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
First Proton Beams Circulate in US Test Accelerator Built to Shape Future Colliders
US researchers at Fermilab have successfully accelerated and stored the first proton beams in the FAST/IOTA accelerator test facility. The beams travel at roughly 7% of light speed, demonstrating the new proton injector and unique magnet system. This capability supports high‑intensity beam physics, AI‑driven optimization, and upcoming projects such as the PIP‑II upgrade and the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. The test platform enables rapid, low‑risk experimentation separate from operational accelerators.
Antibiotic Resistance Can Vary Depending on Where the Bacteria Live
Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark discovered that antibiotic resistance measurements can shift dramatically when test conditions change. Standard laboratory assays use fixed, uniform environments, but altering factors such as growth medium or temperature can make the same bacterium...
From 1968: Lise Meitner, Physicist, Is Dead at 89; Paved Way for Splitting of Atom
The New York Times republished the 1968 obituary of Austrian‑born physicist Lise Meitner, who died at 89. Meitner calculated the massive energy released when uranium atoms split, laying the theoretical foundation for the atomic bomb and modern nuclear power. For three decades she...
NASA Space Probe Expected to Reenter the Atmosphere with a Chance of Raining Debris
NASA’s Van Allen Probe A re‑entered Earth’s atmosphere on March 11, 2026, burning up over the Pacific Ocean south of Mexico. The 600‑kilogram spacecraft, launched in 2012 to study the planet’s radiation belts, came down months earlier than the projected 2034 timeline due...
Improving Turbulence Models
Researchers have introduced a new sub‑scale turbulence equation derived via an equation‑discovery tool, targeting the small‑scale dynamics that large‑eddy simulation (LES) typically approximates. By running a full, high‑fidelity turbulent flow simulation and matching its output against a library of over...
First-of-Its-Kind Vaccine Protects Children From Deadly E. Coli Infections
Scientists announced ETVAX, the first oral vaccine that targets enterotoxigenic *E. coli* (ETEC) in children, after a large‑scale trial in The Gambia. The study involved 4,936 infants aged six to 18 months and demonstrated a 48% reduction in moderate‑to‑severe ETEC...
Scientists Head Underground to Measure Effects of Gamma Rays on Superconducting Qubits
Scientists placed a four‑qubit superconducting chip 350 feet underground at Fermilab’s NEXUS lab to study how gamma rays generate correlated charge noise. By toggling a lead shield around the dilution refrigerator, they isolated gamma‑induced charge bursts from cosmic‑ray background, marking the...
America versus Alzheimer's
A bipartisan call in Washington urges the United States to make curing Alzheimer’s a flagship scientific enterprise. The proposal calls for billions in basic brain research, Medicare coverage for early diagnosis and preventive treatment starting at age 50, and parity...
China’s First Moon Astronauts Could Land at This Surprising Site
A new Nature Astronomy paper identifies the equatorial Rimae Bode region as a prime candidate for China’s first crewed lunar landing, targeting a 2030 timeline. The study highlights the area’s flat terrain, near‑constant sunlight, and direct line‑of‑sight to Earth, reducing...
March 10, 1977: Uranus Has Rings
On March 10, 1977 a team led by James Elliot used the Kuiper Airborne Observatory to record a predicted occultation of star SAO 158687 by Uranus. An early‑start recording captured a brief dip in starlight that repeated on the opposite limb, confirming the...
AI-Focused Fund Breakout Raises $114M To Support Early-Stage Biotechs
Breakout Ventures announced the close of its third fund, raising $114 million to back AI‑driven biotech startups. The capital will be deployed to early‑stage companies, including a University of Chicago spin‑out focused on computational small‑molecule design and a stealth venture tackling...
Rising Amid Flurry of CAR T Deals, Stylus Proves Cell Therapy Is Not Dead
Stylus Medicine entered the cell‑therapy arena in May 2025 with an in‑vivo CAR‑T platform that delivers a lipid nanoparticle‑encapsulated recombinase to engineer T cells inside patients. The move comes after major pharma acquisitions—BMS buying Orbital Therapeutics for $1.5 billion and Gilead...
Dyne Plans Post-Prasad FDA Run as Duchenne Exon Skipper Sustains Benefit in Long Term Data
Dyne Therapeutics reported that its exon‑skipping candidate z‑rostudirsen sustained respiratory and cardiac benefits through 24 months in the Phase 1/2 DELIVER study for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The therapy maintained forced vital capacity, circumferential strain and left‑ventricular ejection fraction improvements compared with...
Why Do Rodents Gnaw? Because It Feels Good
Researchers have mapped a neural circuit in mice that links the act of gnawing to dopamine‑driven pleasure pathways. By genetically targeting tooth‑sensing neurons, they showed that disabling these cells stops gnawing, causing incisors to overgrow. The work reveals gnawing is...
AI Techniques Speed up Forensic Analysis of Crucial Crime Scene Larvae
Researchers at LSU and Texas A&M are using machine‑learning combined with infrared spectroscopy and mass‑spectrometry to identify forensic maggot species, sex, and even toxins within minutes. The approach creates a metabolomic database that can classify insects from chemical fingerprints, eliminating...
The Hypoxia Response as an Example of the Way in Which Mild Stressors Slow Aging
Researchers have shown that mild, repeated stressors such as hypoxia can trigger cellular maintenance programs, notably autophagy, which delays senescence and extends organismal lifespan. Under low‑oxygen conditions, oxygen‑dependent histone demethylases are inhibited, leading to increased histone methylation and stabilized chromatin...
A View of the Present State of the Comparative Biology of Aging
The article reviews the emerging field of comparative biogerontology, emphasizing that while the hallmarks of aging have been mapped in laboratory models, their relevance across the vast diversity of animal species remains unclear. It argues that integrating molecular insights from...
Watch Tonight's Quantum AI Revolution Live
Join the livestream of tonight’s event. Losing sleep over AI? Maybe best not to ruminate on Quintelligence— Quantum AI. But if you can’t help yourself, tune in. A quiet revolution in quantum information science is underway with quantum computers and...
Psilocybin Plus Therapy Boosts Quit Rates Sixfold
🚨 @NPR spotlights our new JAMA Network Open study: One psilocybin dose + therapy gives 6X better odds of quitting smoking vs. nicotine patch + therapy. Game-changer for tobacco smoking addiction?
Rethinking Climate Change
Nicola Scafetta’s new book, The Frontier of Climate Science, critiques the IPCC’s near‑total anthropogenic warming attribution by highlighting gaps in climate models regarding solar variability and natural cycles. It synthesizes two decades of research on multi‑decadal oscillations, solar and planetary...
Blood Test Predicts Alzheimer's up to 25 Years Early
Predicting Alzheimer's disease up to 25 years in advance of any symptoms with the p-tau217 biomarker blood test, among 2,766 women mean age 70 https://t.co/aOActAUN27 https://t.co/Bxl2YZxnlf
AI Proven to Boost Breast Cancer Screening Accuracy
3 new reports and an editorial @NatureCancer reinforce the benefit of AI for breast cancer screening https://t.co/MlFns7M0yB https://t.co/MF3fj0CuIE https://t.co/a436srKDaD https://t.co/1XTMIsAPfg
Ocean Speed Limits Protect Endangered Right Whales. Trump Wants to Weaken Them.
Since 2008 NOAA has required ships 65 feet or longer to travel at reduced speeds in North Atlantic waters where endangered North Atlantic right whales congregate. The rule is credited with more than 270 calf births, though the species remains far...
Certain Regions Hitting Deadly Heat Thresholds Sooner
Some places are approaching the deadly heat threshold faster than others, and more climate stories in today’s Green Daily https://t.co/KBhEK54c5v
Heatwave Makes Simple Outdoor Tasks Unbearable
It's getting too hot to walk the dog or sweep the porch for a growing number of people https://t.co/RBDOSUC620
How Bumble Bees Survive Days Underwater without Drowning
Researchers have shown that hibernating bumble‑bee queens can survive up to eight days underwater without drowning. The bees achieve this by slashing their metabolic rate by more than half and switching partially to anaerobic respiration, as evidenced by a fifteen‑fold...
A Triangulum Lookalike
NGC 2403, a spiral galaxy in Camelopardalis, closely mirrors the Triangulum Galaxy (M33) in structure and vigorous star‑forming regions. It resides roughly 8 million light‑years away as part of the nearby M81 galaxy group. Cataloged as Caldwell 7, the galaxy was captured in...
The Sky Today on Tuesday, March 10: The Moon Visits Red Giant Antares
On March 10, 2026 the waning gibbous Moon will glide within 0.7° of the red‑giant star Antares in Scorpius, reaching its closest approach at 8 A.M. EDT. The pair will sit about 20° above the southern horizon for mid‑latitude observers, offering a striking...
Why the FDA Is Embracing Old Math for New Drugs
The FDA released draft guidance encouraging the use of Bayesian statistics in drug and biologic clinical trials, aiming to shorten development timelines and lower costs. By allowing external data—known as priors—to be incorporated, the approach promises more efficient, adaptive studies,...
Rubella Vaccines: What You NEED To Know
The episode challenges the conventional view of rubella, arguing that the virus was never definitively isolated and that the disease is historically mild. It critiques the 1941 Australian study linking rubella to congenital cataracts and the subsequent vaccine rollout, suggesting...
Single Pivotal Trials Demand Stronger Data and Risk Strategies
Following the FDA’s recent shift to require only one pivotal trial for new drug applications, sponsors now face heightened pressure to generate robust efficacy and safety data. Regulators expect a single, bullet‑proof study rather than two less conclusive trials, mirroring...
The Ultra-High-Energy Neutrino May Have Begun Its Journey in Blazars
A recent ultra‑high‑energy (UHE) neutrino detected by the IceCube observatory has been linked to a flare from a distant blazar, suggesting the jet of the active galaxy accelerated particles to extreme energies. The association relies on temporal coincidence and directional...
ALMA Detects Extremely Abundant Alcohol in Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has reported the detection of an unusually high concentration of alcohol—specifically ethanol—in the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Spectroscopic analysis shows ethanol levels roughly ten times greater than those measured in typical solar‑system comets. The observation...
Twistors and Wick Rotation
The article explains how twistor theory provides a geometric framework for Wick rotating between Minkowski and Euclidean spacetimes. By treating spacetime points as CP^1 lines inside projective twistor space (PT=CP^3), the author shows that the Minkowski conformal group SU(2,2) and...
Gene Edit Makes Probiotic Safer for Immunocompromised Patients
An international team genetically deleted the ENA1 gene from Saccharomyces boulardii, a common probiotic yeast. In immunosuppressed mice, the ENA1‑deficient strain showed no mortality, raising survival from 30‑40% to 100% compared with wild‑type isolates. The edit also reduced osmotic stress...
SpaceX Launches Direct Television Satellite for EchoStar
SpaceX lifted off a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral on March 9, 2026, deploying EchoStar‑25, a direct‑to‑home television satellite for Dish Network. The booster, B1085, completed its 14th flight and landed on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas, marking the vessel’s 146th...
CRISPR-Based Technique Unlocks Healing Power of Mitochondria for Heart Failure Therapy
Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine used a non‑editing CRISPR system to activate the PPARGC1A gene, boosting mitochondrial production in human cardiomyocytes. The technique safely increased cellular energy output, as shown by higher oxygen consumption in cell...
Tony Martens on the Protein That Could Replace Eggs, Dairy, and Meat | Believe in Aliens Episode 2
Plantible Foods has secured a landmark FDA “No Questions” letter for its Rubi Protein, the first isolated RuBisCO‑based protein recognized as safe for food use. The clearance removes regulatory barriers, allowing the ingredient to be incorporated into baked goods, beverages,...
Ep. 785: Magnetars
Astronomy Cast’s episode 785, hosted by Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela Gay, dives into magnetars—highly magnetized neutron stars whose fields can reach 10^15 gauss. The hosts recount the 2004 giant gamma‑ray flare that exposed the destructive power of these stellar...
The Heart of the Pod-The Tragic Loyalty of Tolsta Bay Pilot Whales
On July 16, 2023, fifty‑three long‑finned pilot whales stranded on Scotland’s Isle of Lewis after following a mature female in distress. A joint investigation published in March 2026 ruled out sonar, disease, and toxins, concluding the female’s prolonged, difficult birth...
Rocketry: RFTS Rocket Competition + NM Spaceport Hosts Student Launches + FAR‑OUT Rockets at Mojave
The Rocketry Federation of the Stars (RFTS) is running its 18th National Rocket Competition for students aged 10‑18, while New Mexico State University and the Albuquerque Civil Air Patrol launched eleven rockets from Spaceport America on Feb. 14, 2026. Ten of those...
Complement System Biomarkers Change with Age, and More So in Dementia Patients
A decade‑long study of 235 cognitively normal adults tracked plasma levels of 14 complement proteins every two years. Five factors—C4, C4b, Factor I, Factor D and Properdin—showed progressive deviations only in participants who later developed Alzheimer’s disease. These peripheral changes...
1977 Russian Flu Shows Lab-Origin Genetic Signature
"Russian flu," the pandemic that hit in 1977, bears an evolutionary signature of having emerged from a lab, perhaps as part of a failed vaccine effort. Covid, mpox, Ebola, and other influenza pandemics don't. Here's my story on a new...
Plastic Chemical DEHP Linked to Higher Breast Cancer Risk
The link between exposure to DEHP and its metabolite MEHP, found in plastics, and risk of breast cancer in a 20-year prospective study https://t.co/wKEVlMxWHT https://t.co/j5NL5QfTBu
New Summit in Colombia Seeks to Revive Stalled UN Talks on Fossil Fuel Transition
Colombia and the Netherlands will host the First Conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta this April, aiming to jump‑start a stalled UN process for a global fossil‑fuel roadmap ahead of COP31. The gathering expects 40‑80...
Psoriasis' Immune Activation Reduces Skin Cancer Risk
Chronic inflammation generally poses a higher risk of cancer, so why does psoriasis-like disease have a lower risk of skin cancer. Why? Sustained immune cell activation https://t.co/kcxUHC8Ahk https://t.co/igqNDv5mdj
Obesity Raises Risk for Multiple Cancer Types
Obesity and overweight are risk factors for several types of cancer. Why? A @JAMA_current review https://t.co/fn5tfxNnsM https://t.co/caCsAt2vuB
The US’s Critical Minerals Club Threatens an Equitable Clean Energy Transition
The United States is forming a critical‑minerals trading bloc aimed at breaking China’s dominance in supply chains for digital and defense technologies. The initiative downplays clean‑energy needs, even though analysis shows only a handful of the 33 minerals the UK...
Eye in the Sky
The Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), often dubbed the Eye of God or Eye of Sauron, is a striking planetary nebula located about 650 light‑years from Earth in the constellation Aquarius. It represents the final evolutionary stage of a Sun‑like star that...
Short‑lived Pollutant Cuts Need Carbon Removal to Offset CO₂
There has been a lot of recent interest by companies in mitigating short-lived climate "super-pollutants" like methane and refrigerants. This can have a strong short-term climate impact, but to credibly counterbalance CO2 emissions requires combining them with durable carbon removal.