Know What's Happening in Science
Know What's Happening in Science
Spike D614 Reversions Detected in Delta and Omicron BA.2 Variants
Researchers from the University of Tsukuba and the Institute of Science Tokyo identified nonrandom reversions of the SARS‑CoV‑2 spike protein from the dominant G614 back to the ancestral D614. The reversions are concentrated in delta and omicron BA.2 lineages and show distinct temporal spikes and geographic clustering.
MIT researchers have built a terahertz microscope that compresses long‑wavelength radiation into a sub‑micron spot, overcoming the diffraction limit. Using spintronic emitters and a Bragg mirror, they imaged quantum‑scale vibrations of superconducting electrons in the high‑temperature cuprate BSCCO. The observation reveals a previously unseen collective mode of the superfluid electron condensate. The work opens a new window on terahertz dynamics in quantum materials.
Berkeley Lab researchers used the ARTEMIS exascale tool on the Perlmutter supercomputer, employing nearly 7,000 NVIDIA GPUs to simulate a 10 mm quantum chip with 11 billion grid cells. The full‑wave, time‑domain electromagnetic model captured material properties, wiring, and resonator geometry, allowing...
A major storm is strengthening off Australia’s northern coast, threatening to bring destructive winds and heavy rains as it heads for landfall in the North Queensland mining region later this week https://t.co/eQ4rvYd1y3
The universe has no physical center; space itself expands uniformly from every point. The Big Bang was not an explosion in pre‑existing space but the creation of space everywhere, making each location equally central to its own observable sphere of...
Astronomers led by Dr. Harrison Nicholls of the University of Oxford announced the discovery of L98‑59d, a 1.6‑Earth‑size exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf 35 light‑years from Earth. Observations reveal a surface of molten lava at roughly 1,900 °C and a hydrogen‑sulfide‑rich...
On March 17, 2026, a research team at the University of Science and Technology of China announced that its strontium optical lattice clock reached a stability of 10⁻¹⁹, translating to an error of less than one second over 300 billion years. The breakthrough...
NASA astrobiologist Martin Cordiner and his team at Goddard Space Flight Center announced today that the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which entered the inner solar system last year, contains water with deuterium levels 30‑40 times higher than Earth’s oceans and an unusually...
On 17 March 2026 CERN physicists announced the observation of a previously unknown heavy‑proton‑like particle, the Ξcc⁺, using the freshly upgraded LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva. The discovery was led by an international LHCb collaboration that includes a...
Day two of the APS March Meeting showcased cutting‑edge research across condensed‑matter physics and quantum technologies. Edoardo Baldini reported a Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless transition in monolayer NiPS3, confirming 2D XY magnetism via second‑harmonic generation microscopy. Barry Zink demonstrated how a chromium spin...
Some exciting news tonight just published @TheLancetInfDis our @TexasChildrens @BCM_TropMed @GWSMHS hookworm anemia vaccine is showing high levels of protective immunity in human phase 2 clinical trials, nearly 100% reduction in hookworm, a project of decades https://t.co/C23cNdsa0p
The blog revisits Morley Martin’s 1934 microscope experiments that appeared to coax vertebrate‑like forms from Precambrian, azoic rock, linking them with Trevor James Constable’s aether‑engineering to argue that life’s origin is a continuous Earth‑driven process. By emphasizing mineral‑water interactions, it...
A study published in Gastroenterology demonstrates that stress during early life rewires gut‑brain pathways, increasing the risk of chronic digestive disorders. Mouse experiments showed sex‑specific motility changes and identified separate neural, hormonal, and serotonin mechanisms. Large human cohorts—over 40,000 Danish...
Australian researchers found that artificial water bodies such as farm dams can sustain populations of the vulnerable Carter’s freshwater mussel, showing densities comparable to natural rivers but with fewer young individuals. The four‑year study surveyed twelve sites between 2020 and...
Millions of protein complexes added to AlphaFold Database shed light on how proteins interact https://t.co/Kt9oFFkAf2 https://t.co/tEnlYOTCPl
Australian researchers led by CSIRO have demonstrated the world’s first proof‑of‑concept quantum battery, proving that a quantum system can charge, store and release energy. The laser‑charged organic microcavity prototype exhibits a counter‑intuitive effect: it charges faster as its size grows,...
The March 2026 Amazon roundup highlights the most highly regarded books on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Leading titles such as *The Eerie Silence*, *Confessions of an Alien Hunter* and *Reinventing SETI* combine historical perspective, insider experience, and the newest technosignature...
EVs helped avoid the use of 2.3 million barrels of oil daily last year. By 2030, that number could more than double to 5.25 million barrels https://t.co/ipPiTXbIvV
Researchers observed emperor cichlids in Lake Tanganyika reacting aggressively when divers stared directly at the fish or their offspring, indicating the fish can perceive human attention. Using waterproof cameras, the team compared behaviors when divers looked at eggs, hatchlings, the...
Researchers discovered that platypus fur contains hollow, spherical melanosomes, a structure previously thought exclusive to bird feathers. Electron microscopy of 12 platypus specimens confirmed the hollow melanosomes, which were absent in 126 other mammal species including echidnas and marsupials. Chemical...
An Italian neuroimaging study of 260 inpatients found that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with poorer white‑matter integrity, especially in patients with bipolar disorder. In bipolar patients, higher exposure to physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect correlated with widespread...
The study reveals that medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) ensembles encode collective social variables such as huddle size, membership, and active versus passive entry decisions in mice facing cold stress. Using a custom SLEAP‑based multi‑animal pose‑tracking pipeline and calcium imaging, the...
China’s space program has transformed into a full‑spectrum state system by March 2026, operating the Tiangong space station, a growing satellite‑internet fleet, and advanced lunar and deep‑space missions. Recent milestones include Chang’e‑6’s far‑side sample return and Tianwen‑2’s asteroid‑return flight, while reusable...
You would think that the chickenpox virus being airborn would mean “little drops of spit in the air” since that’s how most viruses do it. Alas. That is not how chickenpox goes airborn 😬
NOAA, the National Weather Service and the Climate Prediction Center forecast a shift from La Niña to ENSO‑neutral conditions by May 2026, with a 55 % chance of neutral weather through July. The outlook then turns to El Niño, which carries a 62 % probability...
In December 2020 Hayabusa2 returned 20 mg of Ryugu dust to Earth, and a Japanese‑U.S. team has now identified all five DNA/RNA nucleobases in the material. Using a refined extraction protocol and high‑resolution mass spectrometry, the researchers detected adenine, guanine, cytosine,...
No evidence that medicinal cannabis effectively treats anxiety, depression, or PTSD - according to the largest review of cannabinoids ever conducted.
A 6‑foot, 7‑ton asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere over Lake Erie on March 17, 2026, producing a bright fireball that streaked across the sky from Indiana to New York. Traveling at roughly 45,000 mph, it fragmented over Valley City, Ohio, generating a loud...
A study published in *Perception* found that athletes who regularly play outdoor sports detect peripheral colors significantly better than indoor athletes and non‑athletes. In tests, outdoor athletes required roughly one‑third less color contrast to spot brief peripheral stimuli. The research,...
The global wild tiger population is about 5,574 individuals, having lost roughly 95 % of its historic range. South Asian countries such as India, Nepal, Bhutan and Thailand are seeing rebounds, while Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations remain...
New monitoring data from WWF Mexico shows the eastern monarch butterfly’s wintering footprint in central Mexico expanded to 7.2 acres, up from 4.4 acres the previous year and 2.2 acres before that, suggesting the long‑running population decline has paused. The...
Researchers at Skoltech and KTH have developed an ultrathin carbon‑nanotube black paint that absorbs terahertz radiation, addressing interference in emerging 6G photonic circuits. The coating, applied via aerosol chemical vapor deposition, can be tuned from 2 to 53 nm, with the...
Zymeworks will present Phase 1 data on its folate‑receptor‑alpha ADC ZW191 and preclinical results for a novel pan‑RAS inhibitor ADC platform at the AACR Annual Meeting. The oral presentation will detail dose‑escalation safety and efficacy in advanced solid tumours, while...
ORIC Pharmaceuticals announced that two preclinical abstracts on its PRC2‑targeting agent rinzimetostat (ORIC‑944) have been accepted for poster presentation at the 2026 AACR Annual Meeting. The data show rinzimetostat, an allosteric EED inhibitor, maintains potency against EZH1‑overexpressing complexes and key...
Researchers at Penn State have unveiled a dual‑gate graphene field‑effect transistor that remains stable in liquid environments, eliminating the signal drift that hampers conventional sensors. By pairing a high‑capacitance top gate with a low‑capacitance bottom gate and adding a feedback...
Researchers at the University of Bristol have demonstrated a quantum‑inspired laser ranging system that achieves sub‑millimetre accuracy over distances exceeding 150 metres, even under bright sunlight. By engineering classical laser pulses to emulate energy‑time entanglement, the technique suppresses solar‑induced noise...
The Drug Information Association (DIA) has launched a public‑private AI Consortium that unites regulators, biopharma, academia, and technology firms to shape AI governance in drug development. The group is developing a seven‑step classification framework that aligns AI use‑cases with risk‑proportionate...
A new analysis of the Multi‑Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) links each additional daily serving of ultra‑processed food to a 5.1% rise in incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). Participants in the highest consumption quintile faced a 66% higher CVD risk compared...
NASA is recruiting citizen scientists to improve hailstorm forecasting through the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network. Volunteers can submit hail photos, size measurements, and timing using a free mobile app, with optional $42 rain gauges for detailed...
Voyager‑2’s 1986 flyby produced the sole close‑up photograph of Uranus’s moon Umbriel, captured from 346,000 miles away with roughly 6‑mile resolution. The image reveals a heavily cratered, ultra‑dark surface that reflects only 16% of sunlight, similar to lunar highlands. A...
Our bottleneck for some of the biggest change ahead may be humans. I shared the story of Paul Conyngham and his dog Rosie on my Instagram when it broke. When I read the coverage, my shock was less that ChatGPT...
Sharing a snapshot from my second talk at #APSSummit26 — this one on NMR OTOCs and Pauli‑path approaches to zero‑noise extrapolation (ZNE) to learn an inter-atomic distance of 2.44 +- 0.04 angstroms on a Google's Willow quantum processor. https://t.co/350lCfheQM
Researchers at the UK Central Laser Facility have, for the first time, directly observed quantum radiation reaction when near‑light‑speed electrons collide with an ultra‑intense laser pulse. The experiment, led by Imperial College London and published in Nature Communications, captured the...
Researchers using Saccharomyces cerevisiae showed that replicative senescence is triggered when a single shortest telomere falls below a critical length, which both initiates senescence and promotes genomic instability that can transiently enable cells to escape it. 🧬 https://t.co/TOUeXB4L3v
Healthy Life Extension: The “North Star” of Geroscience🌟| @AgingJrnl 🩺 - David Barzilai MD PhD | @agingdoc1👨⚕️ 🔗https://t.co/JqhGgOe3nA https://t.co/ieBQZ6pAQd
Scientists have confirmed the survival of two marsupial species— the pygmy long‑fingered possum (Dactylonax kambuayai) and the ring‑tailed glider (Tous ayamaruensis)—that were thought extinct for 6,000 years. The animals were documented in the Bird’s Head Peninsula rainforests of Indonesian New Guinea after...
Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute created a machine‑learning model that scans MRI images and achieved 92.87% accuracy in distinguishing Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment from healthy brains. The algorithm highlighted volume loss in the hippocampus, amygdala and entorhinal cortex...
A NIH‑backed multicenter trial of 140 pregnant adults found that weekly injectable extended‑release buprenorphine achieved significantly higher rates of illicit opioid abstinence than daily sublingual buprenorphine, while also reducing serious maternal adverse events. The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine,...
Researchers at Noroff University have proposed a new variable for the Drake Equation that measures a civilization’s willingness to communicate. Erik Geslin’s paper argues that many advanced extraterrestrials may deliberately stay silent, viewing contact with an ecologically unstable humanity as...
This week's Editor's Choice highlights a study by Valette and colleagues that evaluates a feedback system to improve gait and perception when using a knee prosthesis. @rlvalette Learn more in Science #Robotics: https://t.co/pWQ3r6aGLs https://t.co/xqUZp2YyCH
A new feature in the magazine Now Voyager revisits the 1886 eruption that supposedly destroyed New Zealand’s Pink and White Terraces, questioning whether the famed silica cascades survived. The article frames the scientific dispute over the terraces’ fate as a...
