Adults with Better Math Skills Rely Less on the Brain’s Physical Movement Areas
A new fMRI study in Cerebral Cortex finds that adults with higher math proficiency exhibit reduced activation in sensorimotor and insular brain regions when comparing numbers, indicating greater neural efficiency. The research compared 104 adults (average age 23) and 88 fourth‑graders (average age 10) on symbolic and embodied number tasks, linking brain activity to Woodcock‑Johnson math subtests. In children, stronger intraparietal sulcus activation predicted better scores, while in adults the opposite pattern emerged. The authors argue that expertise shifts the brain from embodied, physical processing toward automatic, abstract representations.
Image: NASA's Psyche Mission Spies Mars' Wind-Blown Craters During Close Approach
NASA's Psyche spacecraft, en route to asteroid 16 Psyche, performed a close flyby of Mars on May 15, 2026 and returned a natural‑color image of the Syrtis Major region. The picture reveals wind‑blown streaks that stretch roughly 30 miles (50 km) across impact craters about 30 miles...
The Universe's 'Most Relaxed' Galaxy Cluster Was Shaped by Cosmic Violence, New Study Finds
New Chandra X‑ray observations reveal that the galaxy cluster Abell 2029, long considered the universe’s most relaxed cluster, still bears the imprint of a major merger that occurred about 4 billion years ago. The data show giant sloshing spirals, a “bay” depression,...
Ghost Shark, Carnivorous Sponge Among 1,000+ Newly Discovered Marine Species
The third year of the global Ocean Census has added 1,121 potentially new marine species, including a glass‑castle polychaete worm, a ghost shark, and a carnivorous death‑ball sponge. Launched by the Nippon Foundation and Nekton, the initiative has catalogued over...
Beam One-Ups Wave as Both Show Promise of Editing for AATD
Beam Therapeutics presented Phase 1/2 data for its DNA editor BEAM‑302, showing an 80% drop in mutated alpha‑1 antitrypsin (AAT) protein and lifting total AAT above the 11 µM protective threshold, with effects lasting 12 months. Wave Life Sciences reported its RNA editor...
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NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day showcases spiral galaxy NGC 3169, located about 70 million light‑years away, in the midst of a dramatic gravitational dance with neighboring NGC 3166. The interaction is pulling the galaxies’ spiral arms into sweeping tidal tails, a prelude...
AbbVie’s New Immunology Standard-Bearer Skyrizi Kneels to UCB’s Bimzelx in Psoriatic Arthritis
UCB’s Bimzelx outperformed AbbVie’s Skyrizi in a Phase 3 head‑to‑head trial for psoriatic arthritis, achieving 49.1% ACR50 versus 38.4% for Skyrizi at week 16. While Bimzelx also showed numerically higher minimal disease activity (43% vs 39.9%), the difference missed statistical significance. Skyrizi...
Could Future Mars Settlers Print Their Own Tools?
Researchers at the University of Arizona demonstrated that metal additive manufacturing can be performed in a carbon‑dioxide atmosphere that mimics Mars, offering a potential alternative to transporting argon for 3‑D printing on the Red Planet. Using laser‑beam powder‑bed fusion, they...
Tau Aggregates Trigger Neuronal Death via Z-RNA
A new study reveals that pathological tau protein aggregates directly bind to Z‑RNA structures within neurons, triggering a cascade that leads to cell death. Using cryo‑electron microscopy and transcriptomic profiling, researchers mapped the interaction and identified activation of innate immune...
Thouless Quantum Walks in Topological Flat Bands
Researchers led by Danieli, Conti and Pilozzi have demonstrated Thouless quantum walks embedded in topological flat‑band photonic lattices. By engineering synthetic dimensions and phase‑modulated couplings, they achieved quantized, disorder‑immune transport of quantum walkers along protected edge states. The experiment showcases...
The Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Completed 72 Flights in an Atmosphere Less than One Percent as Dense as Earth’s Before Rotor...
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, built for just five test flights, completed 72 missions over nearly three years, logging more than two hours of flight in an atmosphere less than one percent as dense as Earth’s. Weighing 1.8 kg and costing about $85 million,...
Lake Study Shows Ways to 'Cancel' Climate Impact
The UK Environment Agency released a study showing that fully eliminating wastewater inputs to Windermere could completely offset the projected climate‑change impacts on the lake over the next 50 years. The research, conducted with the UK Centre for Ecology and...
Flexible Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Synapse Advances Physical Reservoir Computing
Researchers unveiled a flexible organic‑inorganic hybrid charge‑trap synapse that delivers non‑volatile, analog weight storage with fast response and high endurance, enabling low‑power physical reservoir computing. The device combines organic semiconductor flexibility with inorganic charge‑trap layers to emulate synaptic dynamics while...
Harmonics Push Lasers Toward Record Intensities
Researchers at Oxford used the Gemini petawatt laser with a pair of plasma mirrors to create a coherent harmonic focus that boosted the laser’s intensity by a factor of 80, reaching 1.2 × 10²¹ W cm⁻². The technique generated harmonics from the 12th to...
NASA’s Plan for a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon Could Change Space Exploration Forever—If It Works
U.S. officials aim to place a nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2030, a timeline that outpaces a similar China‑Russia effort slated for 2035. Proponents argue nuclear power solves the lunar south‑pole’s 14‑day night, offering reliable, year‑round energy for habitats,...
A Quantum Simulator with Circular States
Physicists at France's Kastler Brossel Laboratory have built a quantum simulator that merges two types of Rydberg atoms—circular and non‑circular—to deliver both long‑lived coherence and optical addressability. Eight rubidium atoms were trapped, with four circular atoms serving as data qubits...
Your Bloodwork May Reveal Diseases Years Before Symptoms Start
A UK Biobank analysis of 23,776 adults measured nearly 3,000 blood proteins and 159 metabolites, showing that protein‑based models outperformed traditional risk factors for 16 of 17 chronic diseases. The proteomic signatures flagged disease risk years before participants received a...
Prescribed Burns and Forest Thinning Averted Millions of Tons of Emissions and Billions in Damages
A UC Davis study published in Science shows that prescribed burns and forest‑thinning operations across the Western United States from 2017 to 2023 prevented the release of 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide, averted nearly 60 premature deaths and avoided roughly...
Britain Launches the First X-Ray Eye on Earth’s Magnetic Shield
A joint ESA‑China mission, SMILE (Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer), launched on a Vega‑C rocket on 19 May and became the first satellite to image Earth’s magnetic shield in real time using X‑ray technology. The UK Space Agency contributed...
Suction-Assisted Ureteroscopy for Renal Stones &Le; 2 Cm: A Systematic Review, Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression
A Bayesian network meta‑analysis of 13 studies (2,694 patients) compared suction‑enhanced flexible ureteroscopy (FANS), direct in‑scope suction (DISS) and conventional URS for renal stones ≤2 cm. FANS demonstrated a 2.5‑fold increase in stone‑free odds and reduced operative time by roughly 4.5...
Optimizing Arsenic Removal Using Surface-Modified Magnetic Nanoparticles via Taguchi Experimental Design
Researchers enhanced iron‑oxide magnetic nanoparticles with humic acid, raising their specific surface area from 48.2 to 92.2 m²/g and dramatically improving arsenic(V) adsorption. Using the Taguchi experimental design, optimal conditions—pH 3, 5 g/L adsorbent dosage, 180 minutes contact time, and 20 mg/L co‑existing ions—delivered a...
Rocket Lab’s 3D Printed Engine Hits 1,000 Units
Rocket Lab announced that its Long Beach plant has produced the 1,000th Rutherford engine, the world’s first 3D‑printed, battery‑powered rocket engine. The milestone follows a decade of scaling from one unit per month to a target of roughly 200 engines annually....
Mood Enhancers and Munchies: The Science Behind Cannabis Cravings
Clinical studies now confirm that THC directly stimulates appetite and alters food reward through the endocannabinoid system. The cannabis edibles and beverage market, valued at roughly $28 bn, is expanding rapidly as younger shoppers cut back on alcohol and seek wellness‑focused...
Glowing Fungi Expose Final Enzyme that Could Make Bioluminescent Tools More Efficient
Researchers have identified caffeylpyruvate hydrolase (CPH) as the final enzyme in the fungal bioluminescence pathway, confirming it breaks down oxyluciferin into caffeic and pyruvic acids. The recycled caffeic acid re‑enters the light‑producing cycle, while pyruvic acid can be shunted into...
Molecular De-Extinction Looks to the Past to Find the Molecules of the Future
Scientists are leveraging machine-learning techniques to resurrect ancient genes and peptides, a process termed molecular de-extinction. Recent studies have recreated antimicrobial peptides from extinct species such as mammoths, demonstrating potent activity against contemporary drug‑resistant pathogens. The approach combines paleogenomics, synthetic...
Webb Discovers One of the Universe's First Galaxies
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected an ultra‑faint galaxy, LAP1‑B, that existed just 800 million years after the Big Bang. The galaxy was magnified 100‑fold by gravitational lensing from a foreground cluster, allowing JWST to capture its spectrum....
Efficacy of Ustekinumab Combined with Partial Enteral Nutrition in Crohn’s Disease
A retrospective cohort of 124 Crohn’s disease patients showed that adding partial enteral nutrition (PEN) to ustekinumab (UST) therapy markedly improved long‑term mucosal healing. At week 54, endoscopic remission was achieved in 71.05% of the UST + PEN group versus 50.00% with...
DG ICAR Jat Felicitates Progressive Millet Farmer K Chikkana at ICAR-IIMR
M L Jat, Secretary of DARE and DG of ICAR, honored Karnataka farmer K. Chikkana for dramatically improving finger millet production using the HR‑13 variety and scientific practices. Yield jumped from 9‑11 to 22‑23 quintals per acre, and farm income rose from roughly...
Why Isle of Man Is 'Ideal' For Building Rainforests
The Manx Wildlife Trust has planted 30,000 trees over three years on the 105‑acre Creg y Cowin reserve, creating a nascent temperate rainforest on the Isle of Man. The island’s mild, wet climate places it squarely within a natural rainforest corridor stretching...
Plantwatch: How Goat’s Rue Inspired Super Drug for Everything From Diabetes to Obesity
Goat’s rue (Galega officinalis) long served as a folk remedy for diabetes, its active molecule galegine lowering blood glucose but causing toxicity. Chemists later transformed galegine into metformin, a synthetic analogue that retains glucose‑lowering power without the harmful side effects....
Can Geoengineering Avert a Climate Catastrophe?
The Financial Times piece examines whether geoengineering can stave off the looming climate crisis, focusing on solar radiation management and carbon‑removal techniques. It outlines recent laboratory and field experiments that suggest modest temperature reductions are possible, but also highlights uncertainties...
Satellite Services for Biodiversity Monitoring
Satellite biodiversity monitoring has shifted from selling raw imagery to providing repeatable, policy‑grade outputs such as alerts, change‑detection layers, and auditable reports. Public missions like Landsat, Copernicus, and NISAR supply the free data foundation, while commercial firms add higher‑resolution or...
SpaceX Launches 24 Starlink Satellites on Falcon 9 Launch From California
SpaceX launched 24 additional Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base on May 19, 2026, bringing the operational constellation to just under 10,500 units. The Falcon 9 booster B1103 completed its second flight, landing safely on the droneship “Of Course I...
Nanomaterials Take Aim at the Biggest Barriers in Renewable Energy
A new roadmap published in Nano Futures outlines how nanomaterials and advanced electrochemical designs can break current performance limits in renewable‑energy conversion, targeting green hydrogen, electro‑fuels from CO₂, and low‑carbon ammonia. It details catalyst, membrane, interface and defect engineering strategies...
Revealing a 'Hidden Order' Of Molecules Could Finally Shed Light on Alien Life
University of California, Riverside researchers have introduced a statistical method that detects a hidden order in molecular mixtures, distinguishing biological from abiotic chemistry. By measuring diversity and evenness of amino and fatty acids, the technique identifies patterns unique to life....
New 3D Printing Tech Is Set to Give Robots Human-Like Muscles
Researchers at Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering have unveiled a 3D‑printing process that creates artificial muscle‑like filaments capable of bending, twisting and coiling when heated. The method prints side‑by‑side active liquid crystal elastomers and passive elastomers through a...
Tau Aggregates Cause Reactivation of Transposable DNA Elements, Leading to Z-RNA–ZBP1-Mediated Neuronal Death
Researchers discovered that pathological tau aggregates reactivate dormant transposable DNA elements in neurons, producing left‑handed Z‑RNA. The Z‑RNA is recognized by the innate immune sensor ZBP1, which initiates a RIPK3‑MLKL necroptotic cascade leading to neuronal death in tauopathy mouse models...
De Novo Design of Quasisymmetric Two-Component Protein Cages
The Baker lab reported the first de novo design of quasisymmetric protein cages composed of two distinct components. Using RFdiffusion, ProteinMPNN and AlphaFold2, they engineered heterodimeric building blocks that self‑assemble into a T≈3 icosahedral cage, confirmed by cryo‑EM, cryo‑ET and...
Considering Biological Limitations of Lesion Network Mapping
Lesion network mapping (LNM) has become a popular method for linking focal brain lesions or atrophy clusters to distributed functional networks. Recent work by Pini, Salvalaggio and Corbetta argues that LNM mainly captures elementary topological features of the normative connectome...
A Pathogen lncRNA Secreted Into Rice Sequesters a Host miRNA for Virulence
Researchers identified a long non‑coding RNA, lnc117761, secreted by the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae that enters rice cells and binds the host microRNA miR5827. This interaction releases the negative immunity regulator PKR1, boosting fungal virulence. Deleting lnc117761 or disrupting...
Cusp-Singularity-Enhanced Coriolis Effect for Sensitive Chip-Scale Gyroscopes
Researchers have introduced third‑order cusp singularities into a chip‑scale Coriolis vibratory gyroscope, creating a singularity‑enhanced Coriolis effect. The approach yields a cubic‑root response that lifts the effective Coriolis factor by up to 1,010 times, improves signal‑to‑noise ratio 253‑fold, and boosts precision...
We Finally Have the Answer for T. Rex’s Tiny Arms
Paleontologists analyzed 82 theropod species and discovered that the iconic tiny arms of T. rex and its relatives are closely tied to the evolution of a more massive, robust skull rather than sheer body size. The research, published in Proceedings of...
New Jurassic Pterosaur Unearthed in Germany
Paleontologists have announced a new early monofenestratan pterosaur, Laueropterus vitriolus, from a nearly complete skeleton found in Bavaria’s Mörnsheim Formation. The fossil, dated to 150‑143 million years ago, measures about a one‑meter wingspan, making it the largest known member of this...
Twenty-Two Years and 15,000km Later: Fluke Discovery Sets New Record for Humpback Whale Journey
Researchers have documented a humpback whale that traveled roughly 15,100 km from Brazil's Abrolhos Bank to Australia’s Hervey Bay, marking the longest recorded distance between sightings of a single individual. The whale was first photographed in 2003 and resighted in...
Government Failing to Prepare UK for Climate Impacts, CCC Warns
The Climate Change Committee’s new "A Well‑Adapted UK" report warns that the UK is ill‑prepared for escalating climate risks, citing record heat, floods and wildfires. It projects that without a £11 bn annual investment, over 90% of homes could overheat, river...
Brain Connectivity Predicts How Well Antidepressants Work Compared to Placebos
Researchers re‑analyzed a sertraline versus placebo trial in major depressive disorder using a data‑driven symptom model. They discovered that both drug and placebo follow the same geometric path of mood improvement, but sertraline pushes patients farther along that trajectory, especially...
Scientists Unveil ‘DNA Battery’ That Charges Directly From The Sun
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have created a liquid solar battery that mimics DNA’s pyrimidone molecule to capture sunlight, store it chemically for months or years, and release it as heat on demand. The molecular system achieves an energy density...
How 3D Printing Could Unlock America’s Untapped Hydropower
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Wisconsin startup Cadens have unveiled 3D‑printed turbines that can lower hydropower costs by up to 40% per kilowatt and be retrofitted onto existing dams. With fewer than 3% of the United States' roughly...
Field-Ready Tool Identifies Rare and Zoonotic Parasitic Worms Missed by Standard Tests
Researchers at the University of Melbourne and UNSW have created a field‑ready diagnostic that uses Oxford Nanopore long‑read sequencing to profile the full community of parasitic nematodes in stool from humans and animals. Validation showed sensitivity and specificity comparable to...
Blood Test Measuring Biological Age May Reveal Dementia Risk
Researchers at King’s College London validated a blood‑based metabolomic aging clock that can flag individuals at heightened risk of dementia years before symptoms appear. Participants whose biological age exceeded their chronological age by more than one standard deviation faced a...