Single-Celled Organism with No Brain Is Capable of Pavlovian Learning
Researchers have demonstrated that the unicellular ciliate Stentor coeruleus can perform Pavlovian learning, specifically habituation, despite lacking a brain or neurons. The organism reduced its response to a repeated, harmless stimulus, mirroring the simplest form of learning observed in animals and even plants. This discovery expands the known repertoire of cognitive‑like behavior to single‑celled eukaryotes. The work suggests that cellular signaling networks can encode memory‑like processes.
How Colorectal Cancer Treatment Is Evolving in 2026
Colorectal cancer remains a major global health burden, with over 1.9 million new cases and 900,000 deaths in 2022, placing it high on biotech priorities. Treatment has shifted from surgery‑centric approaches to a blend of refined chemotherapy backbones and biomarker‑driven targeted...
UK Billionaire Backs Construction of World’s Largest All-Lens Telescope
British billionaire Alex Gerko is financing MOTHRA, a distributed‑aperture telescope built from 1,140 high‑end Canon telephoto lenses that together provide a 4.7 meter effective aperture. The array is being assembled at the Obstech‑El Sauce Observatory in Chile, with construction started in...
Medieval Farms Were a Boon for Biodiversity, Research Finds
A new study of the Lake Constance region shows that medieval farms created a mosaic of fields, pastures, and forests that drove a steady rise in plant diversity from 500 AD to around 1000 AD. The research, based on fossil pollen, archaeological...
Inside MSC Cruises’ Partnership with ORCA to Strengthen Marine Research
MSC Cruises is launching its inaugural Alaska season in summer 2026 with a science‑led partnership with marine‑conservation group ORCA. A dedicated Marine Mammal Observer will be stationed on the upgraded MSC Poesia to identify whales in real time, guide navigation,...
March 13, 1989: Quebec Goes Dark
In March 1989 a series of intense solar flares—including an X4.5 on March 10 and an M7.3 on March 12—produced coronal mass ejections that struck Earth on March 13, triggering a massive geomagnetic storm. The storm drove aurorae visible as far south as...
NASA Begins Building Nuclear-Powered Dragonfly Drone for 2028 Launch to Saturn Moon Titan
NASA’s Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory has started building and testing the Dragonfly rotorcraft, a nuclear‑powered drone destined for a 2028 launch to Saturn’s moon Titan. The car‑sized craft will use a radioisotope power system, marking a shift from solar‑driven...
Growing Crystals Tiny and Large
Researchers at Rice University confirmed that Thomas Edison’s 1879 carbon‑filament bulb unintentionally produced graphene when a 110 V current was applied for 20 seconds. Building on James Tour’s Flash Joule Heating method, they replicated the process, showing a cheap, rapid route...
Institut Quantique Joins Qblox Excellence Center Program to Advance Distributed Quantum Computing
The Institut quantique at Université de Sherbrooke has become a Qblox Excellence Center, integrating Qblox’s modular control electronics into its Quantum FabLab. The partnership targets distributed heterogeneous quantum computing, aiming to build scalable, fault‑tolerant architectures across superconducting, spin and hybrid...
Parkinson’s Research Reaches “Pivotal” Stage, but Barriers Remain
Parkinson’s research has entered a pivotal phase, driven by deeper disease insights and advanced models such as patient‑derived iPSCs. Despite a pipeline of potential disease‑modifying therapies, funding shortfalls and outdated trial endpoints continue to impede progress. Parkinson’s UK’s Virtual Biotech...
Argonne-Led AI ‘Adviser’ Accelerates Robotic Design of Advanced Electronic Materials
Argonne National Laboratory’s team unveiled an AI “adviser” that monitors and optimizes machine‑learning algorithms during autonomous experiments, dramatically speeding the discovery of mixed ion‑electron conducting polymers. Integrated with the Polybot robotic lab, the adviser reduced the experimental space from over...
Why We Fail to Notice Climate Change
Lake Champlain in northern Vermont, once frozen almost every winter, now freezes only sporadically, reflecting the region’s rapid warming. A July 2025 study in *Nature Human Behaviour* found that presenting climate data as binary (freeze vs. no‑freeze) makes people perceive change...
Immutep Investors Spooked by LAG-3 Failure in Lung Cancer
Australian biotech Immutep saw its ASX shares tumble more than 88% after the independent data monitoring committee recommended halting its pivotal phase‑3 TACTI‑004 trial of the LAG‑3 inhibitor eftilagimod alfa (efti) in first‑line non‑small cell lung cancer. The trial, which...
Increased Spacing Between Solar Module Rows Boosts Agrivoltaics Viability
U.S. researchers at Colorado University introduced an economic framework that evaluates how wider spacing between solar photovoltaic (PV) rows can make agrivoltaic systems viable for large‑scale, mechanized farming. Simulations on a 160‑acre Colorado site across potatoes, onions, sugar beets and...
Out of the Blue? How the Colour of Light Could Be Used to Treat Mental Illness
Researchers at St Olavs Hospital in Trondheim equipped one half of a psychiatric intensive‑care ward with blue‑depleted evening lighting while the other half kept standard lighting. In a randomized trial of 476 short‑stay patients, the circadian‑adapted ward showed greater clinical improvement...
China Ends Month-Long Launch Hiatus with Separate Guowang and Shiyan-30 Satellite Missions
China resumed orbital launches after a month‑long pause, lifting off a Long March 8A carrying the 20th batch of Guowang internet satellites and a Long March 2D launching the Shiyan‑30 technology demonstrators. The Guowang batch adds to a constellation targeting 13,000 satellites,...
This Little-Known Bioactive Helps Protect Against Dementia, Study Shows
A recent Neuroscience Insights review highlights citicoline, a CDP‑choline derivative, as a potent neuroprotective agent. Clinical data show consistent improvements in memory, concentration, and visual‑motor coordination for patients with mild cognitive impairment, especially of vascular origin. The bioactive also benefits...
3D Printable Nanotube Composite Shields Electronics In Extreme Environments
Researchers have created an ultrathin, stretchable, 3D‑printable composite that combines single‑walled carbon nanotubes and boron nitride nanotubes to simultaneously block electromagnetic interference and absorb neutron radiation. The hybrid films achieve over 50 dB EMI shielding at micrometer thicknesses, while a 2:8...
Raccoons Will Solve Puzzles Just for Fun
Researchers published in *Animal Behaviour* found that captive raccoons will continue to manipulate a multi‑access puzzle box even after receiving a food reward, demonstrating intrinsic motivation they label “information foraging.” The study presented clear marshmallow treats but observed the animals...
![[Obituary] Nicholas White](https://hixhlmpcokxhartfkpyi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/thumbnails/18e02f397e47fea422ba4d31bfe3f731.webp)
[Obituary] Nicholas White
Professor Sir Nicholas White, a pioneering pharmacologist and tropical‑medicine clinician, led the development and global adoption of artemisinin‑based combination therapies (ACTs) that transformed malaria treatment. His early trials in the 1990s demonstrated ACTs’ safety and efficacy, prompting a WHO guideline...
![[Editorial] Back to Basics in Sickle Cell Disease](https://hixhlmpcokxhartfkpyi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/thumbnails/dfcc380d39fb22be7b9843b54e9e0246.webp)
[Editorial] Back to Basics in Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle cell disease affects roughly 8 million people worldwide, with deaths climbing 18.4% between 2000 and 2023. The burden falls hardest on sub‑Saharan Africa, where three‑quarters of infants are born with the condition and child mortality exceeds one in 20. Although...
PsiQuantum and National Cancer Center Japan Partner on Quantum Computing
PsiQuantum has signed a research agreement with Japan's National Cancer Center to explore utility‑scale quantum computing for oncology drug discovery. The partnership will focus on developing fault‑tolerant quantum algorithms and clinically relevant applications using PsiQuantum's Construct platform. It also brings...
Pilatus Biosciences Doses First Patient in PLT012 Antibody Trial
Pilatus Biosciences has begun dosing the first patient in a Phase I, open‑label trial of PLT012, its first‑in‑class anti‑CD36 monoclonal antibody, at Next Oncology in Houston. The FDA recently issued IND clearance along with orphan‑drug status for hepatocellular carcinoma and fast‑track...
The Extreme Male Brain Theory of Autism Applies More Strongly to Females
A meta‑analysis of 34 studies involving 1.23 million participants found that autistic females exhibit markedly larger deviations in empathy and systemizing scores compared with neurotypical females than the analogous gaps observed in males. The empathy deficit in autistic women was three‑to‑five...
If the Giant Sequoia Is Dying Out, Why Are There Tens of Thousands of Seedlings and Saplings?
A 2021 high‑intensity fire razed 300 acres of the Redwood Mountain Grove, sparking a massive natural regeneration of giant sequoia seedlings—estimated at 4,000 to 20,000 per acre. Scientists and park managers disagree on whether to let this surge mature naturally...
1,900-Year-Old Double Scythian Burial in Ukraine Contains Toxic Red Mineral
Archaeologists have identified cinnabar, a mercury‑sulfide pigment, in a 1,900‑year‑old double burial of two Scythian women at the Chervony Mayak site in southern Ukraine. The red mineral, known for its vivid vermilion hue, may have been applied for ritual coloration,...
Abbott Reports Positive FreeDM2 Study Results for CGM
Abbott announced that its FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring system outperformed traditional finger‑stick testing in the FreeDM2 randomised trial involving 303 UK patients with type 2 diabetes on basal insulin. After four months, CGM users achieved a larger reduction in HbA1c...
Water Sources May Affect Parkinson's Disease Risk: What to Know
A new population‑based case‑control study of 12,370 Parkinson’s patients and over 1.2 million controls links groundwater characteristics to disease risk. Participants drinking from carbonate aquifers faced a 24% higher odds of Parkinson’s, while older, Pleistocene‑aged water lowered risk by about 6.5%...
Research Identifies Simple Way To Preserve Memory As You Age
A recent study in Heliyon found that digital puzzle games significantly improve memory and concentration in adults aged 60 and older, narrowing the gap with 20‑year‑olds who do not play such games. Participants who engaged with puzzle‑type games outperformed peers...
CATL Makes Progress on Its Solid-State Battery
CATL filed a new WIPO patent detailing a sulfide‑based solid‑state battery architecture that promises 500 Wh/kg energy density. The company has begun pilot production and reports technology maturity at level 4, aiming for automotive‑grade cells by 2027. To support scaling, CATL reserved...
Posco, Sila to Collaborate in Next-Gen Battery Technologies
Posco Future M, the battery materials arm of South Korea’s Posco Holdings, has signed a strategic agreement with U.S.‑based Sila Nanotechnologies to co‑develop next‑generation silicon‑based anodes. Sila’s Titan Silicon anode, built from nano‑engineered silicon particles, promises substantially higher energy density...
Hawkeye Bio Granted U.S Patent for Graphene Biosensor Platform
Hawkeye Bio announced that the USPTO granted U.S. Patent No. 12,461,102 for its pristine graphene‑based biosensor platform. The patent covers a technology that uses functionalized graphene particles and optical reporters to detect protease biomarkers with high sensitivity. The company is focusing...
Andromeda’s Knotty Arms
Astronomy Magazine unveiled a composite image of the Andromeda Galaxy’s spiral arms, assembled from 400 hours of total exposure using narrow‑band Hα, SII and OIII filters. The 215.6‑hour Hα exposure maps ionized hydrogen, while 46.6‑hour SII and 132.8‑hour OIII exposures...
PRISM BioLab and Receptor.AI Partner to Develop a Drug Discovery Platform
PRISM BioLab has teamed with Receptor.AI to build an AI‑driven, physics‑guided platform for discovering orally available small molecules that target intracellular protein‑protein interactions, membrane proteins, and complex receptor systems. The collaboration fuses PRISM’s PepMetics technology—3‑dimensional scaffolds that mimic α‑helix and...
The Sky Today on Friday, March 13: Look Into the Eyes of the Owl
The Owl Nebula (M97) in Ursa Major lies 2.3° southeast of the Pointer Star Merak and appears as a faint, 10th‑magnitude planetary nebula about three arcminutes across. Visible in small telescopes, it reveals more detail—including its characteristic “eyes”—with 6‑inch apertures or...
Natera Launches Zenith Genomics in the US to Diagnose Rare Diseases
Natera announced the commercial launch of Zenith Genomics, a next‑generation whole‑genome sequencing (WGS) assay aimed at diagnosing rare and ultra‑rare diseases in the United States. The platform pairs standard WGS with long‑read sequencing confirmation to capture complex genomic features such...
IVF Not Linked to Overall Cancer Risk in Massive Study – but One Late-Life Danger Still Can't Be Ruled Out
Australian researchers analyzed nearly 418,000 women who underwent medically assisted reproduction between 1991 and 2018 and found no increase in overall invasive cancer rates compared with age‑matched peers. While overall risk was unchanged, specific cancers such as uterine, ovarian and...
How the Menstrual Cycle Can Make or Break an Athlete’s Performance
The link between the menstrual cycle and elite sport performance is shifting from anecdote to science. Estrogen and progesterone fluctuate across follicular, ovulatory and luteal phases, acting as neurotransmitters that modulate attention, memory and risk‑taking. Studies show some women react...
Earth’s First Major Extinction Was Worse than We Thought
New research published in Geology re‑evaluates the Ediacaran “Kotlin Crisis” extinction, dating it to about 551 million years ago and indicating that roughly 80 % of species were lost. The study, based on exceptionally preserved fossils from Newfoundland’s Inner Meadow site, extends...
Alpine Glacier Holds History Dating Back to the Romans. And It’s Melting—Fast.
The Weißseespitze ice cap in the Eastern Alps preserves ice up to 6,000 years old, including a 10‑meter core that records atmospheric conditions from the Roman Empire through the mid‑17th century. Researchers identified chemical markers of medieval wildfires, extensive mining, and...
Frontier Dark Matter Research Theories
In early 2026 the dark‑matter field shifted from hunting a single particle to mapping a complex Dark Sector. New theoretical contenders—axions, self‑interacting dark matter, primordial black holes, and dark‑photon forces—are gaining traction as WIMP searches stall. Cutting‑edge facilities such as...
Scientists Just Found a Way to 3D Print One of the Hardest Metals on Earth
Researchers at Hiroshima University and Mitsubishi Materials have demonstrated a laser‑based additive manufacturing process that can 3D‑print tungsten‑carbide‑cobalt (WC‑Co) cemented carbide with industrial‑grade hardness above 1400 HV. By using hot‑wire laser irradiation, the method softens rather than fully melts the material,...
US Weather to Go Nuts with Blizzard, Polar Vortex, Heat Dome, Atmospheric River All at Once
The United States is facing an unprecedented convergence of extreme weather, with a record‑breaking heat dome scorching the Southwest while a polar vortex drives Arctic chills into the Midwest and East. Simultaneously, two storm systems will unleash a bomb cyclone...
Remembering Annette Dolphin, Who Helped Explain Gabapentin’s Effects
Annette Dolphin, a pioneering neuropharmacologist at UCL, died on 27 January at 74 after a five‑decade career that reshaped voltage‑gated calcium‑channel research. Her 2005 discovery that α2δ subunits control channel trafficking clarified the molecular basis of neuropathic pain and revealed...
How Old Is the Universe?
The age of the universe is now pinned at roughly 13.8 billion years, a figure derived from the Planck satellite’s high‑resolution mapping of the Cosmic Microwave Background and refined by Hubble‑constant measurements. Independent checks from the oldest known stars, such as...
Trial Finds Immunotherapy Did Not Improve Survival when Added to Chemoradiotherapy for Small Cell Lung Cancer
The NRG‑LU005 phase III trial evaluated atezolizumab combined with concurrent chemoradiation in patients with limited‑stage small‑cell lung cancer (SCLC). Adding the immunotherapy did not improve overall or progression‑free survival, with median overall survival of 31.1 months versus 36.1 months for...
Live Coverage: SpaceX Resets Starlink Mission From Cape Canaveral for Saturday
SpaceX postponed the Starlink 6-61 launch from Friday to Saturday, targeting an 8:30 a.m. EDT liftoff from Cape Canaveral. The mission will carry 29 new Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 booster B1095, which is on its sixth flight. A 75% chance of...
Space Jam: NASA’s MADCAP Team Directs Traffic at the Moon
NASA’s Mission Analysis and Design for Cislunar and Planetary (MADCAP) team has been quietly tracking every spacecraft in lunar orbit for the past 15 years. In March 2025 the privately‑run Blue Ghost lander narrowly avoided a collision with another orbiter,...
Gut Health Supplement Relieves Arthritis Pain, Finds New Study
A new randomized trial (INSPIRE) led by the University of Nottingham found that daily supplementation with the prebiotic fiber inulin significantly reduced knee osteoarthritis pain and improved grip strength. Participants receiving inulin also showed higher levels of butyrate and GLP‑1,...
Ditch the Darth Vader Mask for Sleep Apnea
Scientists have identified sulthiame, an old epilepsy drug, as a promising treatment for moderate‑to‑severe sleep apnea. In a German trial of 298 patients, higher doses cut breathing pauses by nearly 50% and boosted overnight oxygen levels. The findings, published in...