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
Dealing with Lunar Dust: What Works Best?
An Australian research team led by RMIT and CSIRO evaluated over 30 passive surface technologies to mitigate lunar dust, scoring them on five criteria including durability and dust interaction. The highest‑scoring solutions were a graphene‑enhanced perfluorosilane coating and a graphene/polyamide‑imide coating. The authors stress that future validation must test these coatings under combined vacuum, UV, thermal‑cycling, and abrasion stressors. Their work highlights critical gaps in standardizing high‑vacuum dust tests for upcoming lunar missions.
Colossal's 3D‑Printed Chick Incubator:
Colossal Biosciences has grown baby chicks inside 3D-printed plastic containers coated with a silicone-based membrane that mimics an eggshell's oxygen exchange — a meaningful step, but scientists say the company is overselling it.
Brain Scans Reveal How Ibogaine Alters Neural Networks in Veterans with Head Trauma
Researchers at Stanford reported that a single dose of ibogaine, combined with magnesium, produced measurable neurobiological changes in 30 combat veterans with mild‑to‑moderate traumatic brain injury and PTSD. Functional MRI scans revealed sustained increases in cerebral blood flow across the...
How to Predict an Earthquake
Earthquake prediction remains elusive because plate tectonics operate on geological timescales far beyond the reach of modern seismometer networks. To bridge this gap, paleoseismologists like USGS geologist Katherine Scharer excavate reinforced trenches across California’s most hazardous faults, uncovering ancient rupture...
TESS Uncovers 27 New Circumbinary Planet Candidates, Doubling Known Sample
A team at the University of New South Wales used TESS observations and a novel apsidal‑precession technique to identify 27 new circumbinary planet candidates. The find more than doubles the handful of such worlds known and sharpens the debate over...
Scientists Were Wrong About This “Rule-Breaking” Particle
Physicists led by Penn State’s Zoltan Fodor have produced the most precise lattice‑QCD calculation of the muon’s anomalous magnetic moment, eliminating the long‑standing gap between theory and experiment. The new result aligns the Standard Model prediction with measurements to within...
Keio University Demonstrates Imagery-Only Training Cuts Athlete Reaction Times
Researchers at Keio University reported that a two‑day neurofeedback imagery protocol cut reaction times in young adults, proving mental rehearsal alone can sharpen motor performance. The finding, published in PNAS, could reshape training for athletes and musicians.
Study of 117‑Year‑Old Maria Branyas Morera Uncovers Youthful Epigenetics and Microbiome
Scientists at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute published a multi‑omics analysis of 117‑year‑old Maria Branyas Morera, showing that her epigenetic age markers and gut microbiome resembled those of people decades younger. The findings could reshape how researchers approach longevity...
Accro Bioscience Secures $50 Million Series C Led by OrbiMed to Advance Ulcerative Colitis Drug
Accro Bioscience announced a $50 million Series C round headed by OrbiMed, with participation from TCGX, LAV, Cenova Capital and existing backers. The capital will finance a Phase IIb study of AC-101, a RIPK2 inhibitor targeting ulcerative colitis, underscoring private‑equity interest...
First Steel Beams for DUNE Start to Be Lowered Underground
CERN Director‑General Mark Thomson attended a ceremony at the Sanford Underground Research Laboratory on 7 May, marking the start of a major construction phase for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). Approximately 4,500 tonnes of steel beams will be lowered 1.5 km underground...
Sanofi's Efdoralprin Alfa Shows Triple Alpha‑1 Levels in Phase 2 AATD Emphysema Trial
Sanofi announced that its experimental drug efdoralprin alfa met the primary endpoint of its Phase 2 ElevAATe trial, delivering mean alpha‑1 antitrypsin trough levels more than three times higher than weekly plasma‑derived augmentation therapy. The result strengthens Sanofi’s rare‑disease portfolio and...
Japanese Eels Have Two Types of Sperm
Japan consumes more than 130,000 tonnes of eel annually, making the species a multi‑billion‑dollar market. Eel fry are harvested from the wild and grown in ponds because captive breeding relies on artificial insemination, which currently yields low fertilization rates. A new...
Clemson University Wins $650,000 Grant to Boost Quantum Software on Real Hardware
Clemson University has been awarded a $650,000 grant to expand its Scalable High‑Performance and Quantum Computing Systems Lab (ScaLab). The funding will accelerate research on software that adapts quantum programs to the constraints of physical hardware, a critical step toward...
China Hails Latest Breakthrough on Space Solar Power Technology
Chinese researchers have demonstrated a wireless power transmission system that can beam kilowatt‑level energy to multiple moving targets at the same time. The ground‑based test mimics the dynamics of an orbiting platform, marking a tangible step toward space‑based solar power...
Antarctic Plants May Face a Growing Fungal Threat From Warming Soils
Global warming is set to expand Antarctica’s tiny ice‑free plant zone, but new research shows it may also nurture soil‑borne fungal pathogens. Scientists analyzed DNA from over 50 soil samples spanning southern Chile to the Antarctic Peninsula and found that...
RAS Inhibition Enters Its Second Wave
RAS inhibition has moved into a second wave of drug development that goes beyond the KRAS G12C breakthrough. After sotorasib and adagrasib secured accelerated approvals for non‑small cell lung cancer and later for KRAS G12C‑mutated colorectal cancer, companies are targeting more prevalent...
The Next 15 Years of Moore’s Law, According to Imec
Imec’s new 15‑year roadmap predicts the commercial debut of complementary FET (CFET) technology around 2033, effectively stacking PMOS and NMOS devices to halve circuit area. The institute also foresees a shift to two‑dimensional semiconductor channels by 2041 to boost power...
Chemist Rebekka Klausen Wins Prestigious Brown Investigator Award
Synthetic chemist Rebekka Klausen, a Johns Hopkins professor, has secured the Brown Investigator Award, receiving up to $2 million over five years to explore three‑dimensional silicon polymers. Her lab focuses on silicon‑silicon bonds, aiming to uncover novel electronic and quantum phenomena...
Scientists Are Building Artificial Brains From Living Cells
Researchers at Princeton have engineered a 3D polymer‑mesh scaffold that lets tens of thousands of rat hippocampal neurons grow into a functional biological neural network. The device, called 3D‑MIND, integrates electrodes and microscopic wires, enabling recording of action potentials while...
Humans Are Killing California Joshua Trees. Can Fungi Save Them?
A National Park Service effort to replant 193 Joshua tree seedlings in Mojave National Preserve has yielded only a 14% survival rate, prompting scientists to investigate the cause. Led by Anne Polyakov, researchers are sampling soils for mycorrhizal fungi that...
Colossal Biosciences Is Growing Chickens in a 3D-Printed Artificial Eggshell
Colossal Biosciences unveiled a 3D‑printed, silicone‑lined artificial eggshell that can incubate chicken embryos outside a natural shell. The transparent plastic cup supplies oxygen through a specialized membrane, improving hatch rates compared with earlier synthetic systems. The breakthrough is part of...
Genetic Location of Primocane-Fruiting Discovered in Blackberries
A team of horticulture scientists led by University of Arkansas researcher Margaret Worthington identified a single genomic region on chromosome Ra03 that controls primocane‑fruiting in blackberries. Using genome‑wide association and linkage mapping, they pinpointed two DNA markers, PF1 and PF2,...
BioMarin Suffers Another Blow to Rare Disease Portfolio in Phase 3 Flop
BioMarin’s investigational enzyme replacement therapy BMN 401 lowered plasma inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) in the Phase 3 ENERGY 3 trial for ENPP1 deficiency, but it did not translate into clinical benefit. The study enrolled almost 30 children aged 1‑12 and missed the primary Radiographic...
Ammonium‐Anchored Mn‐Based Prussian Blue Analogues via Hydrogen Bonding for Robust Sodim‐Ion Battery Cathodes
Researchers have introduced a hydrogen‑bond anchoring technique that inserts tetrahedral NH4+ ions into the A‑site cavities of manganese hexacyanoferrate (MnHCF) Prussian blue analogues. The N‑H···N hydrogen bonds stabilize the framework at the molecular level, suppressing Jahn‑Teller distortion and preventing the...
Recent Advances in Hydrogel Electrolytes for Flexible Zinc Ion Batteries and Capacitors
Researchers highlight hydrogel electrolytes as a game‑changer for flexible zinc‑ion batteries and capacitors. The paper outlines how dendrite growth, corrosion, and hydrogen evolution undermine zinc anodes, and reviews self‑healing, extreme‑environment‑tolerant, and conductive‑network hydrogels that mitigate these issues. It details mechanisms...
Asteroid 2026JH2 to Miss Earth by 56,913 Miles on Monday
Astronomers from the Mount Lemmon Survey discovered near‑Earth asteroid 2026JH2 on May 10. The space rock, roughly the size of one to two school buses, will pass within 91,593 km (56,913 miles) of Earth on Monday just before 6 p.m. ET,...
ORNL Combines 3D Printing and High-Pressure Processing to Reshape Large-Scale Metal Part Production
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have 3‑D printed the canisters used in powder metallurgical hot isostatic pressing (PM‑HIP), removing the need for welding, machining and forming. The printed canisters enable near‑final‑shape production of large metal parts, cutting waste and shrinking...
Advanced High‐Entropy Biomaterials (HEBs)
The review outlines high‑entropy biomaterials (HEBs), a class of substances that blend five or more elements in near‑equiatomic ratios. Their four core effects—high entropy, severe lattice distortion, sluggish diffusion, and the cocktail effect—produce tunable mechanical strength, corrosion resistance, and multifunctionality....
Researchers Train Immune System to Tackle Drug-Resistant Infections
Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have trained macrophages with interferon gamma, dramatically improving their ability to destroy drug‑resistant Staphylococcus aureus and tuberculosis bacteria. The technique, termed "trained immunity," reprograms the innate immune system to respond faster and more aggressively without...
First Healthy Volunteers Receive TRIV-573 Doses in Triveni Bio’s Phase I Trial
Trivena Bio has dosed its first healthy volunteers in a Phase I trial of TRIV‑573, a half‑life‑extended bispecific antibody that simultaneously inhibits kallikreins 5/7 and blocks interleukin‑13. The dual‑target approach is designed to repair the skin barrier while curbing inflammation in moderate‑to‑severe...
Supramolecular Chiral Assembly of Open‐Shell Quinoids With Chiral Additives and Their Spin‐Dependent Transport in Magneto Field‐Effect Transistors
Researchers blended open‑shell quinoid molecules with the chiral additive 1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diamine (BN) and used thermal annealing to form stable co‑crystals. The process amplified the supramolecular chirality thirty‑fold, achieving an absorption dissymmetry factor (g_abs) of 1.23 × 10⁻². These chiral, spin‑bearing assemblies were incorporated...
How Early Brain Activity May Shape Speech-Linked Circuits Before Babies Ever Speak
Researchers at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University identified a ventromedial prefrontal cortex‑striatal circuit that becomes active just before neonatal mice emit ultrasonic vocalizations. Using activity tagging and circuit manipulation, they showed that stimulating this pathway boosts expression of the speech‑related gene...
Bats Create 'Silent Frequency Zones' To Detect Prey in Noisy Flight, Researchers Reveal
Researchers at Doshisha University and the American Museum of Natural History discovered that greater Japanese horseshoe bats actively create a "silent frequency zone" above their reference echo frequency. By adjusting their echolocation calls, the bats suppress clutter echoes, allowing faint...
New Smart Technology in Wearable Wristband May Detect Cardiac Arrest
A Dutch clinical trial (DETECT‑1b) tested a wrist‑worn photoplethysmography (PPG) device that automatically identifies cardiac arrest. Among 49 participants, the algorithm correctly flagged 92% of induced shockable events, achieving 100% detection for ventricular fibrillation and 90% for pulseless ventricular tachycardia....
Common Asthma Drug May Turn Off Tumor 'Switch' Tied to Immunotherapy Resistance
A Northwestern Medicine study published in Nature Cancer shows that blocking the cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 (CysLTR1) with the asthma drug montelukast can reverse immunotherapy resistance in several aggressive cancers. Experiments in mouse models and analyses of human tumor samples demonstrated...
Monte Carlo Simulations Optimize Asymmetric Quantum Conference Keys
Multipartite quantum communication is subtle, and the design principles become complicated when aiming for experimentally feasible schemes. This is why event-ready Monte Carlo simulations of protocols are so important. Here, we illustrate this through strategy optimization for quantum conference key...
Check Public Data First, Save Time and Resources
1/ Stop before you run that experiment. Ask yourself: Could public data already answer my question? Because there’s a goldmine out there. 🧵 https://t.co/ZZVICPVaeD
Extreme Heat Is a Growing Threat to Health, Jobs and Food Security in Southern Africa – Study Looks for Practical...
Researchers from the Academy of Science of South Africa released a consensus study showing that extreme heat is emerging as a major health, labor and food‑security threat across the Southern African Development Community. Average temperatures have risen 1‑1.5 °C since 1961...
Glymphatic System Key to Alzheimer’s Prevention and Treatment
The Role of the Glymphatic System in Alzheimer’s Disease: Mechanisms, Evidence, and Therapeutic Implications https://t.co/qj7kOt1xSC https://t.co/J8fJWQkGeM
Brain Organoids Are Learning to Code
When Brain Cells Learned to Code. The emergence of Organoid Intelligence… | by Dr. Jerry A. Smith | Medium https://t.co/dsX1YwLw8O
Reducing Cell Culture Contamination: Why Sterilisation Validation Matters in CO₂ Shaking Workflows
Cell culture contamination in CO₂ incubator shakers often goes unnoticed until experiments fail, costing labs time and resources. Traditional UV decontamination and HEPA filtration address only exposed surfaces or airborne particles, leaving hidden niches vulnerable. Eppendorf's CellXpert® CS220 introduces a...
Māori Climate Risk Worsened by Colonization, Report Finds
The 2026 National Climate Change Risk Assessment in New Zealand includes a dedicated companion report on Māori communities, concluding that centuries of colonisation have amplified climate risks to Māori land, health, culture and economy. It identifies seven interlinked risk domains and...
Scientists Found a Smarter Mediterranean Diet that Slashes Diabetes Risk by 31%
The PREDIMED‑Plus trial, the largest nutrition study in Europe, showed that a calorie‑reduced Mediterranean diet combined with moderate exercise and professional weight‑loss support cut the incidence of type 2 diabetes by 31% among 4,746 overweight adults aged 55‑75. Participants in the...
Research Bits: May 19
Researchers at the University of Washington unveiled a low‑power, electrically programmable photonic integrated circuit built with standard foundry processes, using phase‑change material to retain settings without power. MIT scientists demonstrated implosion carving to shrink hydrogel‑based optical features from 800 nm to...
NASA Updated Artemis III and SpaceX’s Role Just Got More Complicated
NASA has revised Artemis III, turning it into a low‑Earth‑orbit crewed rendezvous and docking test between Orion and the Starship and Blue Moon pathfinders, while the actual lunar landing is pushed to Artemis IV in 2028. The change highlights SpaceX’s pivotal role,...
Vaccine Experts Debate Options to Combat Outbreak of Unusual Ebola Strain
The World Health Organization convened a closed meeting of vaccine experts after the Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was declared a public‑health emergency. The outbreak has produced roughly 500 suspected cases and more than 130...
Avio Completes Its First Vega-C Launch for ESA
Avio successfully executed its first Vega‑C launch for the European Space Agency, delivering the SMILE solar‑wind telescope into orbit. This marks the first Vega‑C mission managed directly by Avio rather than Arianespace, signalling a shift in ESA’s launch procurement. The...
Micro-LEDs Light Up Nanowire Emitters for Chip-Scale Photonics
Researchers have demonstrated a transfer‑printing process that places micro‑LEDs directly atop indium‑phosphide nanowire emitters, creating a compact, electrically addressable photonic system. The integrated devices achieve small‑signal modulation in the tens‑of‑megahertz range at room temperature and deliver near‑infrared output around 860 nm....
String Theory Suddenly Emerged From Simple Physics Rules
A new study using the bootstrap approach shows that string theory’s core features—such as the infinite tower of particle states—emerge automatically from just two minimal scattering assumptions. Researchers at Caltech, NYU and the Institut de Física d’Altes Energies derived the...
A New Genetically Modified Rice Could Improve Children’s Health. But Will It Be Grown?
The Philippines has issued its first biosafety permit for HIZ039, a genetically modified rice enriched with iron and zinc, aiming to combat childhood anemia and stunting. Laboratory data show the grain triples iron and more than doubles zinc compared with...