News•Mar 11, 2026
Why Are Interstellar Comets So Weird? Part 2: Why Comets Are Like Cats
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS surprised astronomers with a nickel‑rich gas plume, unusually low water content, and a light curve that brightened far faster than typical comets. The object delayed forming a coma and tail, then exhibited a mysterious outward acceleration as it left the solar system. The article likens these quirks to cats—individually unpredictable yet fundamentally the same class of object. It argues that interstellar visitors will always appear stranger than native comets because they originate from entirely different planetary systems.
By Universe Today
News•Mar 11, 2026
350 Feet Underground US Lab Helps Turn Qubits Into Sensors for Dark Matter Research
A multi‑institution team used the Northwestern Experimental Underground Site (NEXUS) at Fermilab, 350 feet below ground, to record charge noise across a four‑qubit superconducting chip, marking the first multi‑qubit measurement of this kind. By alternating a lead shield around the dilution...
By Fermilab News
News•Mar 11, 2026
New Photonic Device Efficiently Beams Light Into Free Space
Researchers at MIT, MITRE, Sandia and the University of Arizona have unveiled a photonic chip that uses upward‑curving “ski‑jump” structures to broadcast thousands of individually controllable laser beams into free space. The device leverages a bimaterial strain technique—silicon nitride and...
By MIT News (Quantum Computing)
News•Mar 11, 2026
Telescopes Team Up for New View of Cat’s Eye Nebula
A new composite image of the Cat’s Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) merges ESA’s Euclid infrared observations with NASA’s Hubble optical data. The nebula, located 4,400 light‑years away in Draco, displays unprecedented detail of its layered shells, jets, and dust structures. This...
By NASA - News Releases
News•Mar 11, 2026
Stasis Pods and Deep Space Exploration
Stasis research, building on therapeutic hypothermia and animal hibernation, aims to place astronauts in a torpor‑like state for long‑duration spaceflight. NASA’s NIAC program funded SpaceWorks Enterprises, whose 2016 Torpor Inducing Transfer Habitat study suggested a torpor‑based Mars transit could reduce...
By New Space Economy
News•Mar 11, 2026
Siemens to Help Build AI-Ready Scientific Infrastructure as Part of DOE’s Genesis Mission
Siemens announced a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Energy to support the Genesis Mission, a federal effort to modernize America’s scientific infrastructure with AI‑driven computing and interoperable digital systems. The partnership leverages Siemens’ expertise in industrial AI,...
By EnterpriseAI
News•Mar 11, 2026
Looking for Supermassive Black Hole Binaries with a Flash of Starlight
A new study proposes detecting supermassive black hole binaries by spotting quasiperiodic flashes of background starlight caused by gravitational microlensing when the two black holes align. Simulations indicate that about 50 nearby galaxies could exhibit such brightening events on orbital...
By Universe Today
News•Mar 11, 2026
LHC Physics Center at Fermilab Reaches 15-Year Milestone for CMS Data Analysis School
The LHC Physics Center at Fermilab celebrated the 15th anniversary of its CMS Data Analysis School, now in its 34th session. Held in January 2026, the intensive week hosted 48 graduate and undergraduate students alongside 48 facilitators and 11 lecturers....
By Fermilab News
News•Mar 11, 2026
The FDA Approves Leucovorin for Rare Genetic Condition and Not for Autism
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved leucovorin, a synthetic vitamin B9, solely for cerebral folate deficiency, a rare genetic disorder. Earlier this year, President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. promoted the drug as an autism cure, prompting a surge in...
By Scientific American – Mind
News•Mar 11, 2026
Airbus and B2Space Team Up for Advanced Stratospheric Missions
Airbus and Spanish HAPS specialist B2Space have signed a strategic partnership to develop end‑to‑end stratospheric missions. B2Space will design, launch and operate high‑altitude balloon platforms, while Airbus will provide payloads, sensors and data‑management capabilities. The collaboration targets applications such as...
By Orbital Today
News•Mar 11, 2026
IonQ and University of Cambridge Establish Quantum Innovation Centre
IonQ and the University of Cambridge have launched the IonQ Quantum Innovation Centre within the Ray Dolby Centre at the Cavendish Laboratory. The hub houses IonQ’s sixth‑generation, chip‑based 256‑qubit trapped‑ion system and provides on‑site hardware plus cloud access for research...
By Quantum Computing Report
News•Mar 11, 2026
UCB Says Bimzelx Tops Skyrizi in Trial; Xenon, Dianthus Set Share Sales
UCB announced that its dual‑target IL‑17A/F antibody Bimzelx (bimekizumab) outperformed AbbVie’s Skyrizi (risankizumab) in a pivotal Phase III psoriatic arthritis trial, achieving a statistically significant higher ACR50 response. The head‑to‑head study is the first direct comparison of an IL‑17A/F inhibitor against...
By Endpoints News
News•Mar 11, 2026
IQM Deploys 20-Qubit Quantum Computer at Aalto University
IQM Quantum Computers has installed its fourth 20‑qubit superconducting system, named Aalto Q20, at Aalto University in Finland. The on‑premises machine follows IQM’s full‑stack model, giving researchers direct control over data and hardware. Aalto University is linking the quantum processor...
By Quantum Computing Report
News•Mar 11, 2026
STAT+: FDA Approves Leucovorin for Rare Disorder without Trial Data
The FDA has granted approval for leucovorin, a folinic‑acid formulation, to treat a rare metabolic disorder despite the absence of new clinical trial data. The decision leans on decades of off‑label use and historical safety records rather than prospective studies....
By STAT (Biotech)
News•Mar 11, 2026
Where Some See Strings, She Sees a Space-Time Made of Fractals
Physicist Astrid Eichhorn leads the asymptotic safety program, proposing that quantum‑gravity interactions become scale‑invariant at the Planck scale, yielding a fractal‑like space‑time. Her work shows that a fixed point persists even when all known matter fields are included, allowing the...
By Quanta Magazine
News•Mar 11, 2026
Wine-Making Waste Helps Recycle Cobalt and Nickel From Batteries
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have demonstrated an electrochemical process that uses tartaric acid, a wine‑making by‑product, to separate cobalt and nickel from lithium‑ion battery leachates. By applying sequential voltages, the method achieves over 99% cobalt purity and 96.5% nickel...
By Chemical & Engineering News (ACS)
News•Mar 11, 2026
Hydrogen Atmosphere Could Keep Exomoons Habitable for Billions of Years
A study by LMU and the Max Planck Institute shows that moons orbiting free‑floating planets can retain liquid oceans for up to 4.3 billion years thanks to dense hydrogen atmospheres and tidal heating. The research demonstrates that collision‑induced absorption in high‑pressure...
By Phys.org - Space News
News•Mar 11, 2026
How Robert Goddard’s Self-Reliance Crashed His Rocket Dreams
On March 16, 1926 Robert Goddard launched the world’s first liquid‑fuel rocket, lifting 12.5 meters before crashing after 2.5 seconds. Despite early successes and funding from the Guggenheim family and the Smithsonian, Goddard’s distrust of collaboration kept his work isolated. The...
By IEEE Spectrum — All
News•Mar 11, 2026
March 11, 1811: The Birth of Urbain Le Verrier
Urbain Le Verrier, born March 11, 1811, was a French astronomer who mathematically identified the cause of Uranus’s orbital irregularities. By applying Newtonian mechanics, he predicted the position of an unseen planet, later confirmed as Neptune in September 1846. His calculations, sent to Johann Galle, led...
By Astronomy Magazine
News•Mar 11, 2026
Dual‐Functional ITO Interlayer for Effective Defect Passivation and Cationic Composition Engineering in Kesterite Solar Cells
Researchers introduced a thin indium tin oxide (ITO) interlayer at the back contact of Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) solar cells to tackle interdiffusion and absorber defects. The ITO acts as a diffusion barrier during early selenization, then self‑sacrifices to release Sn and...
By Small (Wiley)
News•Mar 11, 2026
NASA Disqualifies X-Ray Telescope From Probe Mission Competition
NASA announced that the Advanced X‑Ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) has been disqualified from the Astrophysics Probe Explorer competition after failing to meet the program’s cost and schedule thresholds. The decision follows a series of internal disruptions at NASA, including a...
By SpaceNews
News•Mar 11, 2026
Parkinson's Disease May Reduce Enjoyment of Pleasant Smells
Scientists have found that people with Parkinson’s disease experience reduced enjoyment of pleasant odors such as lemon, indicating the world literally smells different for them. Loss of olfactory function affects 75‑90% of patients and often precedes motor symptoms by years,...
By New Scientist (Health)
News•Mar 11, 2026
Universe’s Brightest Stellar Explosions May Be Powered by Highly Magnetic Neutron Stars
Astronomers have identified a new superluminous supernova, SN 2024afav, whose light curve exhibits a series of periodic, “chirping” brightness bumps. Detailed analysis shows the timing of these bumps fits a model where a highly magnetized neutron star, or magnetar, is surrounded...
By Science (AAAS) News
News•Mar 11, 2026
A Genetic Trick Helps This All-Female Fish Species Escape Evolutionary Doom
The Amazon molly, an all‑female fish that reproduces via sperm‑triggered parthenogenesis, has persisted for at least 100,000 years—far beyond the 10,000‑year limit predicted by Muller’s ratchet. A new Nature study used long‑read sequencing to compare its genome with those of...
By Science (AAAS) News
News•Mar 11, 2026
Telesat Expands Canadian Landing Station Footprint for Lightspeed
Telesat announced new Canadian landing‑station sites in Estevan and Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, and Papineauville, Quebec, expanding its ground footprint ahead of Lightspeed pathfinder launches in December. The company aims to operate 24 landing stations worldwide by the start of global services...
By SpaceNews
News•Mar 11, 2026
Capricor Shares Rise as FDA Sets August Decision Date for Rejected Duchenne Therapy
Capricor Therapeutics announced that the FDA has scheduled an August 22 decision on its investigational Duchenne muscular dystrophy cell therapy, deramiocel, after lifting a prior complete response letter. The biotech resubmitted an enhanced package that includes robust Phase III HOPE‑3 data showing...
By BioSpace
News•Mar 11, 2026
Viagra Compound May Hold Promise for Treating Fatal Genetic Disease
Researchers have identified the erectile‑dysfunction drug sildenafil as a potential therapy for Leigh syndrome, a fatal mitochondrial disorder affecting roughly one in 40,000 births. In cell models, the compound corrected mitochondrial membrane potential and normalized gene expression, while treated mice...
By Science (AAAS) News
News•Mar 11, 2026
Free-Standing 3D Na Ion Anode Material for Higher Energy Density
Innovative bismuth-carbon nanofiber anode integrated with molybdenum disulfide demonstrates improved energy density and long-term cycling performance.
By AZoNano
News•Mar 11, 2026
Large Series C Signals Scale-Up of China’s Laser Satellite Communications Sector
Shanghai‑based BlueStar Optical Domain announced a Series C round of roughly 500 million yuan ($72 million). The capital will fund a production‑line upgrade aimed at delivering 1,000 laser communication terminals annually by mid‑2026. The move positions BlueStar as a mass‑production supplier for China’s...
By SpaceNews
News•Mar 11, 2026
Reading the Sun's Mind Weeks Before It Erupts
Researchers at Southwest Research Institute and NCAR unveiled PINNBARDS, a physics‑informed neural network that reconstructs the Sun’s deep‑layer magnetic activity from Solar Dynamics Observatory data. By mathematically inverting surface magnetic patterns, the tool can identify emerging flare‑producing regions weeks before...
By Universe Today
News•Mar 11, 2026
DNA Barcoding Reveals Which Gene-Therapy Nanoparticles Reach Targets in Vivo
Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a DNA‑based barcoding assay that measures, in living mice, which lipid nanoparticles successfully deliver gene‑editing cargo to target cellular compartments. The technique identified that many particles are degraded in lysosomes, while a newly...
By Phys.org – Nanotechnology
News•Mar 11, 2026
A Single Course of Antibiotics May Reshape the Gut Microbiome for Years
A new Swedish study of nearly 15,000 adults linked a single course of antibiotics to lasting reductions in gut microbial diversity, with effects persisting up to eight years. Clindamycin was the most disruptive, eliminating an average of 47 bacterial species...
By Scientific American – Mind
News•Mar 11, 2026
Sunlight-Activated Graphene Membrane Recovers Battery-Grade Lithium From Brines
Researchers at POST, Griffith and King Khalid Universities unveiled a graphene‑based nanofiltration membrane that uses sunlight to pull lithium ions from magnesium‑rich brines. The hybrid membrane, combining edge‑functionalized graphene nanoribbons with photothermally reduced graphene oxide, delivers a lithium flux of...
By Graphene-Info
News•Mar 11, 2026
Adisyn Reports Graphene-Based Radar Signature Reduction for Drones
Adisyn demonstrated that graphene‑enhanced composite materials can cut radar reflection by up to 20 dB in lab tests, and the team is targeting a 30 dB reduction that would shrink a drone’s radar cross‑section by a factor of 1,000. The proof‑of‑concept was...
By Graphene-Info
News•Mar 11, 2026
Short‐Range Order and LixTM4−x Probability Maps for Disordered Rocksalt Cathodes
Researchers used Monte Carlo simulations with a simplified cluster model to map short‑range order (SRO) in cation‑disordered rocksalt (DRX) cathodes. They discovered that the probability of forming Li₄ tetrahedral clusters is governed primarily by nearest‑neighbor pairwise SRO, and that this SRO...
By Small (Wiley)
News•Mar 11, 2026
Water Drops Sliding Over Arrays of Janus Micropillars With Hydrophilic Tops: A New Mechanism of Drop Charging
Researchers have engineered arrays of Janus micropillars—hydrophilic tops paired with hydrophobic sidewalls—to reveal a novel drop‑charging mechanism. When a water droplet slides across these structures, it leaves microscopic satellite droplets that evaporate within a second, creating charge separation within the...
By Small (Wiley)
News•Mar 11, 2026
Silver‐enhanced Photoresponsive G‐C3N4/Ag Janus Microrobots With Negative Photogravitaxis Efficient Antibiotic Degradation
Researchers have created silver‑enhanced g‑C3N4/Ag Janus microrobots that move upward against gravity when illuminated, a behavior termed negative photogravitaxis. The silver coating improves charge carrier separation, suppressing recombination and boosting photocatalytic activity. This three‑dimensional propulsion increases mass transfer, enabling the...
By Small (Wiley)
News•Mar 11, 2026
Additive‐Free Edge‐Functionalized Graphene Dough
Researchers have introduced an additive‑free, edge‑functionalized graphene (EFG) dough synthesized directly from graphite via selective oxidation and physical exfoliation. The resulting few‑layer nanoplatelets retain defect‑free basal planes, exhibit carboxylate and phenolic edge groups, and achieve a high conductivity of 900 S cm⁻¹....
By Small (Wiley)
News•Mar 11, 2026
Impact of Sapphire Substrate Reconstruction on the Structural, Electronic, and Photonic Properties of MoS2
The paper investigates how sapphire substrate reconstruction during metal‑organic CVD at 1 000 °C alters the structural, electronic, and photonic behavior of monolayer MoS₂. Elevated temperature induces step‑bunching on the sapphire surface, creating local charge‑doping variations and strain that broaden Raman peaks...
By Small (Wiley)
News•Mar 11, 2026
New AI Project Aims to Detect and Predict Ocean Plastic Drift From Space
The ADOPT project combines Sentinel‑2 optical imagery with daily high‑resolution PlanetScope data and artificial intelligence to locate floating plastic debris and forecast its short‑term drift. By training a machine‑learning model on GPS drifter records, the system corrects biases in conventional...
By Orbital Today
News•Mar 11, 2026
Tangled up in Red
Astrophotographer Emil Andronic captured a detailed image of Cederblad 51, a blue reflection nebula embedded in the red emission nebula Sharpless 2‑264 in Orion. The composite combines 69 hours 15 minutes of Hα‑LRGB data collected between September 9 and December 19 2025 using twin 8‑inch f/5 Newtonian telescopes....
By Astronomy Magazine
News•Mar 11, 2026
What the Moon Rocks Were Hiding
Oxford researchers have linked the magnetic strength of Apollo Moon rocks to their titanium content, revealing that only titanium‑rich basalts recorded intense magnetic fields. The study shows the Moon’s magnetic history was dominated by a weak field, punctuated by brief,...
By New Space Economy
News•Mar 11, 2026
ESA Readies Self-Healing Materials For Use On Spacecraft
The European Space Agency (ESA) is advancing Project Cassandra, a collaboration with CompPair, CSEM and Com&Sens to adapt self‑healing carbon‑fibre composites for spacecraft. The HealTech material, originally developed by CompPair, uses embedded fibre‑optic sensors and 3D‑printed aluminium grids to detect...
By Orbital Today
News•Mar 11, 2026
The 19th-Century Mathematical Clue that Led to Quantum Mechanics
In the early 19th century William Hamilton devised a mathematical framework that treated particle trajectories and light rays with the same equations, creating Hamiltonian mechanics. A century later, physicists such as de Broglie and Schrödinger recognized that this analogy anticipated wave‑particle duality, leading...
By ScienceDaily – Nanotechnology
News•Mar 11, 2026
AI Could Make Alien Contact More Likely for SETI's 'Project Hail Mary'
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, with AI‑driven pipelines now processing SETI data up to 600 times faster than legacy systems. Breakthrough Listen’s NVIDIA‑backed model boosted detection accuracy by 7% while slashing false positives by an order...
By Universe Today
News•Mar 11, 2026
CCC: Net-Zero Will Protect UK From Fossil-Fuel Price Shocks
The Climate Change Committee’s new analysis shows that the UK’s net‑zero transition will generate average annual benefits of £110 billion between 2025 and 2050, outweighing its costs by 2029. A single fossil‑fuel price shock would cost the nation more than the...
By Carbon Brief
News•Mar 10, 2026
Thermal Drones Boost Detection of Entangled Seals
Researchers at Monash University and Phillip Island Nature Parks have demonstrated that thermal‑infrared drones can reliably spot marine‑debris entanglements in Australian fur seals. In 54 surveys, 81% of dual‑RGB + TIR detections showed a clear heat signature, with 95% agreement among human...
By Phys.org – Biotechnology
News•Mar 10, 2026
Astronauts and Space Leaders to Appear at the 2026 International Space Development Conference
The National Space Society will host the 44th International Space Development Conference (ISDC) in McLean, Virginia, from June 4‑7, 2026. The agenda features high‑profile NASA astronauts and industry leaders, including former shuttle commander Michael López‑Alegria, planetary scientist Lindy Elkins‑Tanton of the...
By National Space Society Blog
News•Mar 10, 2026
First NSF NOIRLab Follow-Up Observations Triggered by NSF–DOE Rubin Alerts
NSF’s NOIRLab has completed its first set of follow‑up observations triggered by alerts from the Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Within minutes of the alerts, NOIRLab telescopes—including the 4‑meter Mayall and the 2.4‑meter Blanco—obtained imaging and...
By American Astronomical Society – Press
News•Mar 10, 2026
3D Imaging Reveals Messy-Looking Supraparticles Can Be Nearly Perfect Crystals Inside
Researchers at Utrecht University have, for the first time, mapped the three‑dimensional structure of photonic supraparticles using super‑resolution confocal and STED microscopy combined with machine‑learning analysis. The study shows that particles appearing disordered on the surface often form nearly perfect...
By Phys.org – Nanotechnology