Mapping the Short-Term Plasticity of Working Memory
A study in Cell Reports identifies Munc13‑1 as a calcium‑sensing molecular sensor that drives short‑term synaptic strengthening essential for working memory. Using knock‑in mice, researchers showed that disrupting calcium‑phospholipid or calcium‑calmodulin pathways in Munc13‑1 impairs post‑tetanic potentiation and short‑term facilitation at hippocampal mossy‑fiber synapses. The synaptic deficits translate into marked working‑memory failures in radial‑maze tests. Findings link a precise presynaptic mechanism to cognitive performance and suggest new drug targets for neurodegenerative disorders.
The First Artemis Lunar Landings Might Not Go to the Moon’s South Pole
NASA is reconsidering the south‑pole for Artemis’s first crewed landing, exploring alternative sites to reduce risk and accelerate timelines. Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said performance specs are being opened to allow different lunar orbits and constraints. Administrator Jared Isaacman pushes...
ISPTech Raises €5.5M Seed Round to Redefine How Spacecraft Manoeuvre in Orbit
ISPTech, a German spin‑off from the DLR, announced a €5.5 million seed round led by Join Capital and backed by several European venture funds. The capital will fund expanded manufacturing, critical‑infrastructure testing, and the commercial rollout of its non‑toxic propulsion suites,...
City Skylines Influence Cloud Formation Above Them
Researchers analyzing NASA nighttime satellite data found that 44 major U.S. cities exhibit higher cloud cover than surrounding rural areas, with increases ranging from under 1% to about 15%. The study linked these differences to urban design, showing that taller...
Ultrafast Laser Pulses Bring Diamond-Based Quantum Internet Closer to Reality
Researchers at Humboldt‑Universität and the Ferdinand‑Braun‑Institut have demonstrated the SUPER (Swing‑UP of the quantum EmitteR population) method for generating single photons from diamond tin‑vacancy (SnV) centers. The technique employs two precisely timed femtosecond laser pulses to excite the qubits while...
IPC 2026: International Microbiome Conference Calls for Abstracts
The International Probiotic Conference (IPC) 2026 in Kraków is now accepting oral and poster abstracts, with deadlines of April 24 and May 1, 2026 respectively. Selected presenters will share cutting‑edge research on probiotics, prebiotics, microbiome modulators and related therapies to an international audience....
SpaceX Completes Two Launches Since Yesterday
SpaceX completed two Starlink missions within 24 hours, launching 25 satellites from Vandenberg and 29 from Cape Canaveral. Both Falcon 9 first stages were recovered, marking the 14th and 11th flights of the boosters after turn‑arounds of 32 and 27 days....
How a Melting Glacier Could Affect Millions
The New York Times reports that the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is destabilizing faster than anticipated, raising the specter of a multi‑foot sea‑level rise. Scientists warn that a full collapse could add up to three feet to global oceans by...
How Can a Bike Be Faster in a Crosswind? Explaining the Sail Effect in Aerodynamics
Cycling aerodynamics research reveals that certain bike frames and wheels generate a "sail effect" in cross‑winds, reducing drag and even producing forward thrust. Tests by Cyclingnews Labs showed deep‑tube frames like the Factor ONE and disc wheels achieve lower drag...
South Korean Rocket Startup Innospace Pinpoints the Cause of Its First Launch Failure
South Korean rocket startup Innospace released its investigation into the Hanbit‑Nano maiden‑flight failure on December 22, 2025. The probe identified a rupture in the first‑stage combustion‑chamber assembly 33 seconds after liftoff, caused by a leakage from improperly sealed components. The leakage stemmed...
Toucans Reintroduced 50 Years Ago Disperse Seeds of Endangered Trees in Brazil
More than five decades after the ariel toucan was reintroduced to Rio de Janeiro’s Tijuca National Park, a year‑long study shows the bird has largely resumed its historic ecological role. Researchers documented toucans feeding on 76 % of the 101 native...
In MS Diagnosis, the Case for Κ-FLC Index
An international expert panel has recommended that the intrathecal kappa free light chain (κ‑FLC) index be added to the next revision of multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnostic criteria as a quantitative, cost‑effective alternative to oligoclonal bands (OCBs). κ‑FLC can be measured...
Computational Bio Tool Automates and Standardizes Genome Sequencing Analysis
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys and UCLA unveiled metapipeline‑DNA, a new computational tool that automates quality control, variant calling, and reporting for large‑scale genome sequencing. The pipeline processes roughly 100 GB per human genome and can scale to hundreds of samples,...
Biodegradable Polymers for Application as Robust Immunomodulatory Biomaterial Carrier Systems
Biodegradable polymers are emerging as versatile carriers for immunotherapeutic agents, offering tunable degradation, enhanced antigen presentation, and intrinsic immunomodulatory properties. The review evaluates synthetic and natural polymers such as PLGA, PBAEs, Ace‑DEX, chitosan, alginate, and hyaluronic acid, highlighting their formulation...
Bioengineered Bacterial Vesicles and Biomimetic Hybrids Eliminate Biofilms and Balance the Gut Microbiome
Researchers have engineered biomimetic nanocarriers that combine liposomal structures with Myxobacteria outer‑membrane vesicles (OMVs) to deliver antibiotics. The hybrid carriers achieve higher drug loading and can penetrate intracellular Gram‑negative pathogens, while native OMVs avoid immune clearance and sustain extracellular exposure....
Π–Π Stacking‐Assisted Self‐Assembly Fabricates Highly Uniform PANI@RGO Cathodes Toward High‐Performance Aqueous Zinc‐Ion Batteries
Researchers introduced an N‑methyl‑2‑pyrrolidone (NMP)‑mediated self‑assembly method that leverages π–π stacking to fabricate highly uniform polyaniline/reduced graphene oxide (PANI@RGO) composite gels with up to 85 % polyaniline loading. The resulting M‑PANI@RGO‑85 % cathode exhibits a specific surface area of 189.55 m² g⁻¹ and mesopores...
From Membrane Composition to Antimicrobial Strategies: Experimental and Computational Approaches to AMP Design and Selectivity
The review highlights how bacterial membrane composition critically shapes the activity of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and outlines experimental and computational strategies for their rational design. By examining case studies, it maps structure‑activity relationships that govern membrane disruption versus intracellular targeting....
Hybrid 3D Bioprinting of Sustainable Biomaterials for Advanced Multiscale Tissue Engineering
A new review outlines recent progress in hybrid 3D bioprinting that combines inkjet, extrusion, and vat photopolymerization to fabricate multiscale tissue constructs using sustainable, renewable biomaterials. The authors highlight how integrating multiple printing modalities overcomes single‑technique limitations, enabling nano‑ to...
Suckerin Colloids and Hydrogels With Low Immunogenicity as Resorbable and Hemostatic Tissue Adhesives for Wound Healing
Researchers have engineered recombinant suckerin‑12 colloids and hydrogels that act as wet‑resistant tissue adhesives. The materials exhibit stronger adhesion than traditional mussel‑derived proteins and outperform fibrin glue in hemostasis, cell proliferation, and wound closure in animal models. Low cytotoxicity, minimal...
Solving Asteroid Bennu’s Mysteries
NASA released X‑ray computed tomography scans of asteroid Bennu samples on March 17, 2026, revealing intricate crack networks inside the material. The scans show that Bennu’s boulders are highly porous, a property that accounts for the low thermal inertia measured...
Brain’s Clogged Pipes: A Surprising New Link to Hallucinations
A University of Geneva team discovered that children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome show reduced glymphatic clearance, a brain waste‑removal system, and that this early dysfunction predicts the emergence of psychotic symptoms in adulthood. Using longitudinal diffusion‑tensor imaging and magnetic‑spectroscopy, the...
CEA‑Leti to Showcase Integrated Expertise in Microelectronics Reliability at IRPS 2026
CEA‑Leti will present seven papers at IRPS 2026, covering device physics, process integration, RF, FD‑SOI, GaN, BEOL reliability and low‑temperature 3‑D sequential integration. The work combines advanced characterization techniques with physics‑based modeling to deliver early‑stage reliability insights for designers. Highlights include...
It Is Not All About Strength: Rethinking Mechanistic Assumptions in Exercise-Based Rehabilitation for Musculoskeletal Pain Relief
The editorial challenges the long‑standing belief that increasing muscle strength is the primary driver of pain relief in exercise‑based rehabilitation for musculoskeletal conditions. It reviews systematic reviews and mediation analyses across Achilles tendinopathy, patellar tendinopathy, rotator‑cuff shoulder pain, patellofemoral pain,...
Dave Newbold Elected Co-Spokesperson of DUNE Collaboration
Experimental particle physicist Dave Newbold has been elected co‑spokesperson of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) for a two‑year term starting April. Newbold, currently STFC’s executive director of national laboratories, has been involved with DUNE since 2015, contributing to data...
Are Pig Organs the Future of Transplantation?
The United States faces a transplant shortage of over 100,000 patients, prompting research into xenotransplantation using genetically engineered pig organs. Recent cases—David Bennett’s pig heart in 2022, Lawrence Faucette’s in 2023, and Tim Andrews’ pig kidney in 2025—demonstrate feasibility, with...
Scientists Show Dragon Fruit Peel Extract Boosts Bread Nutrition and Lowers Glycemic Potential
Researchers at the National University of Singapore have demonstrated that a purified betacyanin‑rich extract from red dragon fruit peel can be incorporated into wheat bread at a 0.75% level, enhancing antioxidant activity and slowing starch digestion. The fortified loaf maintains...
REalloys’ Breakthrough Could Eliminate Hydrofluoric Acid From Rare‑earth Metallization
REalloys announced a patent‑pending, hydrofluoric‑acid‑free fluorination process that converts rare‑earth oxides into metallization‑grade fluorides. Independent testing showed the product contains only 0.34 wt % oxygen, well under the <1 wt % specification. The HF‑free method removes the need for hazardous HF, cutting safety, regulatory...
March 17, 1958: Vanguard 1 Blasts Off
On March 17, 1958 the United States launched Vanguard 1, its second satellite and the world’s first solar‑powered spacecraft. The 3‑pound metal sphere, only 6.5 inches across, entered a high‑altitude orbit that has kept it aloft for more than six decades, making...
Cancer Vaccines Could Transform Treatment and Prevention – but Misinformation About mRNA Vaccines Threatens Their Potential
Scientists are accelerating development of mRNA cancer vaccines, with more than 120 clinical trials targeting melanoma, brain, breast, lung and prostate tumors. Early studies, such as personalized vaccines for glioblastoma, demonstrate rapid immune activation and improved survival. Simultaneously, a false...
My Research on Wheelchair Basketball Challenges One of the Biggest Assumptions About Sex Differences in Sports
A new study of elite wheelchair basketball players finds that performance gaps between women and men are minimal, with classification severity—not sex—explaining most differences. Sensors tracked acceleration, speed and distance across international games, revealing that athletes with less severe impairments...
GEN Secures BEBO Foundation Approval for Phase II PD Trial
GEN Pharmaceuticals received BEBO Foundation ethical approval to launch a Phase II proof‑of‑concept trial of its mitochondrial‑targeting drug SUL‑238 in Parkinson’s disease. The single‑centre, randomised, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled study, named SHEPHERD, will begin patient enrolment in Groningen in April 2026. Over a 28‑day...
Unlimited Petrol? Chinese Firm Claims It Can Produce Fuel From Air and Water
Shanghai‑based startup XFuel Technologies announced it can produce synthetic petroleum by converting atmospheric CO₂ and water into liquid fuel at low cost. The firm plans to construct large‑scale plants across China, aiming to reduce the country’s reliance on imported crude....
You Can Use Music to Escape Your Negative Thought Loops
Recent neuroscience research shows that listening to music can interrupt the brain's default mode network, curbing negative thought loops and associated pain. Experiments reveal that heroic‑sounding music prompts empowering mental imagery, while sad music fosters calmer, albeit demotivating, reflections. Active...
How To Bring a Bird’s Song Back From the Edge of Extinction
Australia’s critically endangered regent honeyeater, now down to roughly 250 individuals, has lost its traditional warbling song as populations fragmented. Researchers discovered that captive‑bred birds taught by a handful of wild‑born tutors quickly relearned the authentic melody, unlike those exposed...
Visualizing the World with Planetary Computer
Microsoft’s Planetary Computer offers a free, standards‑based geospatial data platform that aggregates curated datasets from government, academic and commercial sources. It provides STAC‑compatible APIs, Python and R SDKs, and an Explorer UI for rapid prototyping of environmental applications such as...
Everglades Restoration Also Helps Save the Planet From Climate Change, Study Finds
A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows Florida’s Everglades absorb about 14 million tons of CO₂ each year, roughly 10% of the state’s road emissions. Carbon sequestration in the wetlands rose 18% between 2003 and...
How Ann Arbor, Michigan, Is Creating Its Own Clean Energy Utility
Ann Arbor is piloting a city‑run Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) in the Bryant neighborhood, offering residents solar panels, battery storage and other clean‑energy assets while remaining connected to the existing grid. The program, approved by 80% of voters, will be...
Scientists Discover Heavier Version of Proton with Upgraded Detector
CERN physicists using the upgraded LHCb detector have identified a new particle, Xi‑cc‑plus, that is four times heavier than a proton. The particle replaces the proton’s two up quarks with charm quarks and decays within a trillionth of a second....
The Sky Today on Tuesday, March 17: Visit M29 in Cygnus
The open cluster M29 in Cygnus reaches about 35° altitude in the east around 5 A.M. on March 17, making it a prime early‑morning target for sky‑watchers. Spanning roughly 7 arcminutes and shining at 7th magnitude, it is easily captured with binoculars or...
Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon
Io, Jupiter’s innermost Galilean moon, remains the solar system’s most volcanically active world, its eruptions powered by intense tidal heating. A new image captured on March 3, 2026 shows Io transiting Jupiter’s disk, complete with its shadow at the planet’s center. The...
3I/ATLAS: Interstellar Comet Has Water Unlike Any in Our Solar System
Astronomers have confirmed that interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS carries water and carbon compounds with a deuterium abundance at least ten times higher than any comet observed in our solar system. The comet also shows unusually high carbon‑dioxide levels and is estimated...
WO3 Nanocomposite Diode for Future Semiconductor Technologies
Researchers fabricated a novel p‑Ag‑WO3/n‑WO3 nanocomposite diode using chemically synthesized WO3 nanoparticles and a dip‑coating process to create a stable p‑n junction. Electrical characterization—including I‑V, C‑V, and impedance analyses—demonstrated rectifying behavior and effective UV photodetection. The device exhibited space‑charge‑limited current...
Nuclear Fusion HPC: A Computer Weekly Downtime Upload Podcast
UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has installed Sunrise, a new supercomputer built on AMD EPYC CPUs and MI 355X GPUs, delivering roughly 6 exaflops at 8‑bit precision and 50 petaflops at 64‑bit. Designed specifically for nuclear‑fusion research, Sunrise merges AI and high‑performance computing...
Colliding Currents Can Target the Deep Brain without Surgery
Temporal interference (TI) stimulation uses two high‑frequency electrical currents that intersect to generate a low‑frequency envelope capable of modulating deep‑brain activity without surgery. Early human pilots have reported seizure suppression and better sleep in epilepsy, improved motor learning after stroke,...
What’s Behind the Injectable Peptide Craze? – Podcast
Injectable peptides such as BPC‑157, GHK‑Cu and TB‑500 have surged in popularity among biohackers despite lacking regulatory approval. The Guardian podcast explores why these grey‑market compounds have become mainstream, featuring insights from journalist Adrienne Matei and Imperial College peptide researcher...
What To Know About Breast Cancer Recurrence
Early‑stage breast cancer patients face a lingering concern about recurrence, which can be local, regional, or distant. Dr. Margaret Thompson explains that recurrence rates have fallen over the past two decades thanks to improved surgery, radiation, and systemic therapies. Individual...
David Sussillo on Persistence, Luck and the Bonds Between Life and Work
David Sussillo’s memoir recounts how a chance email linked him to Larry Abbott, whose mentorship at Columbia’s Center for Theoretical Neuroscience led to the development of FORCE learning. The method trains chaotic recurrent neural networks by harnessing their intrinsic dynamics...
Leucovorin, Long-Read Sequencing, and More
Leucovorin prescriptions for autistic children jumped 71% after a White House briefing promoted the drug, yet the FDA only approved it for cerebral folate deficiency and withdrew any autism claim. A 2024 autism trial supporting leucovorin was retracted, casting doubt...
Watch: Fireball that Streaked Across Hawke’s Bay Sky Likely to Be Burning Space Junk
A bright fireball streaked across the sky over Hawke’s Bay early Thursday morning, prompting witnesses to think it was a plane or meteor. Observers from Wairoa to Napier reported a slow‑moving white object leaving a lingering contrail lasting up to...
What Can Schrödinger's Cat, Bayesian Inference, and the Neuroscience of Time Reveal About How We Experience the Present?
Jo Marchant’s new book explores how the brain constructs the present moment by constantly predicting future sensory input. Neurological cases like akinetopsia and schizophrenia illustrate how disrupted predictive processing warps time perception. The author links these mechanisms to Bayesian inference,...