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
Interfacial Plating Driving Convection‐Like Motion of a Sandwiched Nanocrystal
Researchers demonstrated that nanoscale copper, silver and aluminum crystals confined between two plates move in a closed‑loop fashion when exposed to extreme axial temperature gradients of about 108 K m⁻¹. Atoms migrate along the surface from the hot side to the cold side, creating a compressive back‑stress up to roughly 102 MPa that pushes the crystal core in the opposite direction. This convection‑like mass transport couples directional surface diffusion with rigid‑body translation, a regime previously unseen in solid‑state physics. Molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical analysis corroborate the experimental observations.
Hyperbranched Biorefinery Molecule‐Regulated Switchable Adhesion and Noninvasive Healing
Researchers have created a reversible biomedical adhesive using a hyperbranched polysaccharide produced via microbial fermentation. The nanoconfined structure supplies abundant dynamic disulfide bonds, delivering both high adhesive strength and a broad, controllable adhesion range (296 N/m down to 17 N/m). In animal...
JA Solar, Gold Stone Energy Claim World’s Highest Efficiency for Silicon Solar Cells with 28.2%-efficient Back Contact Device
Chinese PV firms JA Solar and Gold Stone Energy have set a new world record for single‑junction silicon solar cell efficiency, achieving 28.2% conversion in a hybrid back‑contact (HBC) device. The result, certified by TÜV Rheinland, surpasses the previous 28.13%...
Universe's Most Distant 'Hot DOG' Yet May Owe Extreme Infrared Glow to Polar Dust, Webb Reveals
James Webb Space Telescope observations have refined the picture of W2246‑0526, the most distant and luminous hot dust‑obscured galaxy (Hot DOG) known, at a redshift of 4.6 (about 1.2 billion years after the Big Bang). Researchers found that adding a polar‑dust component...
Spermidine Reduces Immune Aging, Enhances Vaccines in Elders
Spermidine Mitigates Immune Cell Senescence and Boosts Vaccine Responses in Healthy Older Adults—A Pilot Study https://t.co/0bDkrx4Dbe
SpaceX Launches Improved Starship Rocket in Latest Development Milestone
SpaceX successfully conducted a test flight of the upgraded Starship V3 from its Boca Chica launch site on Friday. The vehicle featured a reinforced heat shield, upgraded Raptor engines, and a revised aerodynamic layout. The flight lasted roughly four minutes...
Lilly's Verve Gene Editor Cuts Cholesterol, but Delays Loom
Eli Lilly $LLY says Verve’s gene editor lowers cholesterol levels in early, but development timelines have slipped. https://t.co/fuJOPyDwQb via @Jasonmmast
Fragments in the Clinic: VVD-214
Vividion’s covalent WRN inhibitor VVD‑214 evolved from a vinyl‑sulfone fragment hit (compound 1a) to a clinically viable candidate through a series of empirical SAR steps. Introducing a methyl group (2a) boosted stability and sub‑micromolar cellular potency, while a tert‑butyl cyclopentyl...
Earth’s Day Slows by 1.33 Ms per Century, a Rate Unseen in 3.6 Million Years
Researchers from the University of Vienna and ETH Zurich reported that Earth’s rotation period is lengthening at 1.33 milliseconds per century – the fastest rate in 3.6 million years – as melting polar ice shifts roughly 1,000 gigatonnes of water toward the equator.
Silencing Brain’s Locus Coeruleus Amplifies Mental Noise, Study Finds
University of California, Riverside neuroscientists discovered that temporarily silencing the locus coeruleus in mice creates a noisier prefrontal cortex and hampers the ability to switch strategies. The finding clarifies a key brain mechanism that underlies cognitive flexibility and may explain...
Exercise Rewires Immunity, Influencing Disease and Aging
Exercise doesn’t just strengthen muscles—it rewires immunity. Acute workouts and long-term training reshape immune cell behavior through exerkines, metabolites, blood flow, and even the gut microbiome, with implications for cancer, autoimmunity, and healthy aging. #ExerciseImmunology #Healthspan #Immunology https://t.co/ieYqsZEw96
Room‑Temperature Electron Beam Technique Enables Nanoscale Chip Patterning
Rice University scientists have demonstrated a room‑temperature electron‑beam method that creates ordered nanoscale wrinkles on hard chip materials such as silica. By pairing the beam with alpha‑molybdenum trioxide as a stress source, the process forms optical gratings in a single...
D‑Wave’s Order Backlog Jumps Almost 2,000% as Quantum Annealing Gains Traction
D‑Wave Quantum announced that its Q1 2026 order backlog grew nearly 2,000% year‑over‑year, with bookings reaching $33.4 million. The surge stems from a $20 million purchase by Florida Atlantic University and a $10 million agreement with an unnamed Fortune 100 company, underscoring rapid commercial...
REGENXBIO's RGX-202 Gene Therapy Hits Pivotal Efficacy Endpoint in Duchenne Trial
REGENXBIO announced that its one‑time AAV microdystrophin therapy RGX-202 met the primary endpoint in the pivotal phase III AFFINITY DUCHENNE trial, with 93% of evaluable patients showing at least 10% protein expression at week 12. The result positions the company...
Mars Fungi Could Make Red Planet Regolith Fertile for Crops
An international team of U.S. and Brazilian scientists published a review in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences showing that beneficial fungi—particularly arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Trichoderma—can convert nutrient‑poor lunar and Martian regolith into fertile soil for crops. The fungi...
Lattice Oxygen‐Mediated Defect and Strain Regulation of SnO2 via Water‐Soluble Tb2O3 for High‐Performance Perovskite Solar Cells
Researchers introduced water‑soluble terbium oxide (Tb2O3) nanocrystals into chemical‑bath‑deposited SnO2 electron‑transport layers (ETLs) before annealing. The lattice oxygen from Tb2O3 passivates SnO2 oxygen vacancies, reduces surface roughness, and relieves tensile strain during thermal cycling. These improvements enable perovskite solar cells...
Redwire Delivers Argonaut Robotic Arm Prototype
Redwire has handed over a breadboard model of its MANUS robotic arm to the European Space Agency after a rigorous test campaign. The arm, built by Redwire’s Luxembourg subsidiary, can load and unload cargo, transfer power and collect lunar regolith....
Stromatolites Discovered Beneath 42,000‑Year‑Old Korean Impact Crater
A team led by geologist Jaesoo Lim of Korea's Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources identified layered stromatolite structures beneath the Jeokjung‑Chogye Basin, a 42,000‑year‑old impact crater in South Korea. The find suggests that asteroid‑generated heat created hydrothermal niches that...
Fault Tolerance for Quantum Inputs and Outputs with Matthias Christandl
In this episode, host Sebastian Hassier talks with mathematician and quantum chemist Matthias Christandl about rethinking fault tolerance for quantum computers that handle quantum inputs and outputs rather than just classical data. Christandl explains that the traditional fault‑tolerance theorem assumes...
Post‑Exercise Brain Signal Found to Gate Fitness Gains in Mice Study
Researchers at the Jackson Laboratory and the University of Pennsylvania identified a brief post‑exercise activation of hypothalamic SF1 neurons that drives endurance adaptations in mice. Blocking this signal for just 15 minutes erased three weeks of treadmill training benefits, suggesting...
NASA's Psyche Flyby Accelerates Trek to Metal‑Rich Asteroid, Reviving Space Mining Talk
NASA's Psyche probe skimmed Mars at 2,864 miles on May 15, gaining roughly 1,000 mph and a 1‑degree orbital shift. The maneuver keeps the spacecraft on track for an August 2029 arrival at asteroid 16 Psyche, whose metal wealth is estimated in the...
Sirtuin 6 Overexpression Reverses Age-Related Structural Changes in Nuclear DNA in Liver Cells
Researchers used a multi‑omics approach to show that aging in male mouse liver increases chromatin accessibility, driving inflammation and metabolic decline. Overexpressing the histone deacetylase SIRT6 via AAV vectors reversed these epigenetic alterations, restoring a youthful chromatin landscape. The reversal...
CERN Launches Public Consultation for Future Circular Collider
CERN has opened public consultations in Switzerland and France for its proposed Future Circular Collider, a 91‑kilometre underground tunnel that would host a next‑generation electron‑positron accelerator. The dialogue runs from May to October 2026, with workshops, site visits and online...
Classical Algorithms Crack Hard Quantum Many‑Body Problem, Sparking Advantage Debate
Physicists at the Flatiron Institute and Boston University used tensor‑network compression and belief‑propagation tricks to solve a benchmark quantum many‑body problem on ordinary hardware, matching results previously claimed only by quantum computers. The finding revives debate over where true quantum...
NASA's One‑Legged LEAP Robot Aims to Sample Enceladus Plumes
NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts program is backing LEAP, a one‑foot, 2‑pound hopping robot that could travel 560 feet in a single leap to fly through Enceladus’ geysers. The concept, built on the SALTO prototype, promises a new way to collect subsurface‑ocean...
The Solar System's Largest Moon May Be Heating up — Offering Clues to Its Mysterious Origins
Researchers publishing in Science Advances propose that Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is heating up through a novel "warming‑driven dynamo." Radioactive decay and tidal flexing may melt iron‑rich blobs, allowing a delayed core formation that powers its intrinsic magnetic field. This "cold‑start"...
Clinical Trial Endpoint by Counting Hairs - Story of Clinical Trials in Androgenetic Alopecia (Hair Loss)
Veradermics announced that its extended‑release oral minoxidil (VDPHL01) met primary endpoints in a pivotal Phase 2/3 trial of 519 men with androgenetic alopecia. The study showed a mean increase of 30.3 hairs/cm² (once‑daily) and 33.0 hairs/cm² (twice‑daily) in non‑vellus target‑area hair...
Scientists Want to Send a Roly-Poly Robot Filled with 'Dandelion Drones' To Investigate Hidden Tunnels on Mars
Scientists propose a pillbug‑inspired "roly‑poly" robot that can slip through skylights in Martian lava tubes and unleash thousands of tiny "dandelion" drones. The drones would ride either natural wind currents or an onboard fan, using piezoelectric polymer for power, to...
DAS Solar, UNSW Build Tunnel Back-Contact Solar Cell with 27% Efficiency, Lower Silver Content
Researchers from UNSW and DAS Solar have introduced a zero‑busbar (ZBB) metal‑grid design for tunnel‑oxide passivated back‑contact (TBC) silicon solar cells. The new architecture reduces silver paste usage to roughly 6 mg per watt while maintaining high performance. Mass‑produced TBC cells...
Scientists Trained an AI Model Using an IBM Quantum Computer — and It Answered Questions Correctly that the Base Model...
Researchers at Multiverse Computing used a 156‑qubit IBM quantum processor to add tiny Cayley‑parameterized unitary adapters to Meta’s Llama 3.1 8B model. The hybrid quantum‑classical system lowered perplexity by 1.4 % while increasing parameters by only 6,000. It also corrected factual errors that...
Europe Sweats as ‘Heat Dome’ Causes Record May Temperatures
A persistent high‑pressure system, dubbed a “heat dome,” is trapping warm air from North Africa over Western Europe, driving record‑breaking May temperatures. Portugal is expected to near 40 °C while southern Spain may hit 38 °C, and France, Belgium, the UK and...
Pollution From Coal Plants Can Reduce Solar Generation by over 5%
A UK‑led research team used satellite data on 140,000 solar sites to measure how aerosols from coal‑fired power plants cut solar output. In 2023, aerosols reduced global photovoltaic generation by 5.8%, equivalent to about 111 TWh of electricity. China accounted for...
Forests and Soil, Not Diet, Hold the Climate Key for Big Emitters
A new comparative analysis in Climate Policy shows that Brazil, India and Indonesia can achieve the bulk of their 2050 greenhouse‑gas reductions by reforming land use, not by altering diets. The study finds that halting deforestation, protecting peatlands and boosting...
Proxima Fusion Launches Stellaris, Next‑gen Fusion Reactor
Proxima Fusion Unveils Stellaris, a Next-Generation Fusion Reactor by @spaceandtech_ #CleanEnergy #EmergingTech #Technology #Innovation #Tech https://t.co/UlM883rdW7
Brainfood: Indigenous Edition
Recent research underscores Indigenous peoples’ pivotal role in genetic adaptation, animal domestication, and sustainable food systems. Andean populations exhibit a rapid rise in AMY1 salivary amylase gene copies, mirroring a 10,000‑year potato‑based diet. Horse domestication emerged as a prolonged, regionally...
Tailoring Surface Chemistry for Robust and Ambient‐Stable Sodium Layered Oxide Cathodes
Researchers introduced a synergistic niobium‑titanium (Nb‑Ti) surface modification for Na2/3Mn2/3Cu1/3O2 layered cathodes, creating a robust defense barrier that curtails irreversible oxygen redox and transition‑metal dissolution. Multimodal characterizations and theoretical calculations confirm that the Nb‑Ti layer stabilizes the lattice, raises degradation...
Cuttlefish Ink‐Derived Melanin/MXene Composites: Boosting Stability and Unleashing Synergistic Photothermal‐Mechanical Antimicrobial Effects Against Biofilms
The researchers present CI@MXene, a core‑shell nanohybrid that encapsulates natural cuttlefish ink melanin within MXene nanosheets, creating a protective barrier that stops oxidation and reduces cytotoxicity. Under near‑infrared light the composite delivers mild photothermal therapy—keeping skin temperature below 45 °C—while preserving...
Deciphering Emergent Oxyhalide Solid‐State Electrolytes for Next‐Generation All‐Solid‐State Lithium Metal Batteries
All‑solid‑state lithium metal batteries (ASSLMBs) are emerging as a safer, higher‑energy alternative to conventional lithium‑ion cells, but their commercial rollout hinges on solid‑state electrolytes (SSEs) that combine high ionic conductivity with stability. Halide‑based SSEs have attracted attention for their excellent...
Topological Engineering of Filler Distributions in Dielectric Composites to Boost High‐Temperature Capacitive Energy Storage Performance
Researchers engineered the spatial distribution of ZrO2 fillers in a five‑layer poly(m‑phenylenetisophthalamide) (PMIA) dielectric film, creating a built‑in electric field that repels charge carriers. This topological approach reduced leakage current by two orders of magnitude compared with uniform films. The...
Defects That Magnetize Beyond Monolayer PtSe2
Researchers have demonstrated that complex point defects—specifically a platinum vacancy paired with a PtSe antisite—can revive and enhance magnetism in bilayer PtSe2, which is normally quenched by interlayer coupling. The defect configuration generates magnetic moments up to 3.16 µB and produces...
Beet Juice Lowers Blood Pressure in Older Adults in Just 2 Weeks
University of Exeter researchers found that older adults who consumed nitrate‑rich beetroot juice twice daily for two weeks experienced a measurable drop in blood pressure, an effect not seen in younger participants. The study linked this reduction to a shift...
This Sugary Diet Mistake May Leave Lasting Scars on Your Memory – Even if You Clean up Your Eating Later
A review of 27 animal experiments published in Nutritional Neuroscience finds that high‑fat, high‑sugar diets cause lasting hippocampal memory deficits that are only partially reversible when rodents switch to a healthier diet. Memory improves after the diet change but never...
Geothermal 2.0: Can Superheated Rocks Deep Underground Help Power Australia?
Researchers have produced the first global map of super‑hot rock geothermal potential, revealing that tapping just 1% of Australia’s deep heat could generate energy equivalent to three billion barrels of oil or roughly twenty times the nation’s 2021 electricity consumption. New...
Many Biofuels Haven’t Panned Out. Could Algae Make the Clean Diesel and Aviation Fuel Australia Needs?
Australia imports roughly 80% of its diesel and aviation fuel, leaving the economy vulnerable to global shocks such as the Iran war. The federal government has earmarked A$1.1 bn (about $730 m USD) to spur low‑carbon fuels, and algae‑based biodiesel and sustainable...
Response to Rethinking Alzheimer’s Susceptibility and Heterogeneity
The authors reply to Miller et al.’s commentary on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) heterogeneity, emphasizing that susceptibility stems from a complex interplay of genetics, metal ion dysregulation, immune activation, and cellular stress. They expand the original model to include blood‑brain‑barrier permeability and...
FEATURE: From Lab Idea to $2.25 Billion: Ultrasound Destroys Cancer without Scalpels
Biomedical engineer Zhen Xu’s 25‑year effort produced histotripsy, an ultrasound‑based method that liquefies tumor cells without incisions. Her start‑up HistoSonics, founded in 2009, was valued at $2.25 billion after a majority‑stake investment. The technique earned FDA approval for liver cancer in...
Healthy Longevity: S’pore Pours $350m Into Brain, Physical Function Research
Singapore announced a SGD $350 million (≈US $255 million) Grand Challenge to boost research on brain health, physical function and socio‑environmental innovations for healthy longevity. The initiative, part of the RIE 2030 plan, invites industry, academia and public institutions to co‑develop and test solutions, with...
China Launches Shenzhou‑23 for Record One‑Year Stay on Tiangong
China launched the Shenzhou‑23 crewed spacecraft on May 24, 2026, sending commander Zhu Yangzhu, pilot Zhang Zhiyuan and payload specialist Li Jiaying to the Tiangong space station for a planned one‑year orbital stay. The mission sets a new duration record...
Lifestyle Strategies and Mechanistic Implications for Slowing Neurodegeneration (Paper March 2026)
A 2026 narrative review in npj Metabolic Health and Disease by Gunning et al. evaluates four lifestyle interventions—intermittent fasting/ketogenic metabolic switching, calorie restriction, high‑quality diets (Mediterranean/MIND/DASH), and exercise—as strategies to slow neurodegeneration, especially Alzheimer’s disease. The authors map each intervention to...
Your Handwriting Might Reveal More About Your Brain than You Realize
A University of Évora study examined handwriting patterns in 58 seniors, 38 of whom had documented cognitive impairment. Researchers found that simple line‑drawing tasks did not reveal decline, but dictation exercises—especially those with complex sentences—showed measurable differences in speed, stroke...