Handle with Care: Chinese Study Finds Aquatic Virus Can Infect Human Eyes
Chinese researchers have identified the covert mortality nodavirus (CMNV), a pathogen long known in shrimp, as the cause of a newly described eye disease, persistent ocular hypertensive viral anterior uveitis (POH‑VAU), in humans. The study, published in Nature Microbiology, linked the infection to unprotected handling of raw aquatic animals and to consumption of raw seafood, with 71% of cases reporting such exposure. CMNV was found in more than 20 marine species worldwide, from Antarctic krill to octopus, and laboratory tests showed it can infect mammalian cells and raise intra‑ocular pressure in mice. The findings mark the first documented instance of an aquatic‑origin virus directly causing disease in people, raising biosecurity concerns for the growing aquaculture sector.
How ISS Reboosts Raise Orbit and Affect Station Structure
The International Space Station performed a five‑minute Progress 93 burn on April 16 2026, raising its orbit to maintain altitude and phase for upcoming arrivals. Reboosts counteract daily orbital decay caused by thin atmospheric drag in low Earth orbit, adding forward velocity rather...
Magic Mushrooms Make Mean Fish Lazier and More Chill
Researchers at Acadia University and the University of British Columbia found that a single dose of psilocybin markedly reduces aggressive, high‑energy bursts in the mangrove rivulus, a notoriously territorial fish, while leaving low‑energy social displays intact. The dosed fish also...
Map: The Spread of Extreme Drought
More than 44 million Americans now live in areas classified as extreme drought, a condition that historically occurs only 5‑10 % of the time. At present, roughly 20 % of the contiguous United States is under extreme drought and about 2 % faces exceptional...
Humid Heat May Increase the Risk of Premature Birth. But Aspirin Could Help
New research published in JAMA Network Open finds that pregnant women exposed to humid heat have a higher likelihood of preterm birth, with each 1 °C increase in temperature raising risk by about 5%. In a randomized trial of over 11,500...
May 6, 2026 Zimmerman/Batchelor Podcast
Robert Zimmerman’s new book *Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8* chronicles the historic 1968 mission that first took humans to another world. The title is now available in hardback, paperback, ebook and audiobook formats, with a foreword by Valerie Anders and...
Thailand Research Partnership Explores CO2 Separation From Biogas for Closed-Farm Agriculture
Thailand’s Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) and Bio Bloom Co Ltd have launched a 12‑month pilot to separate CO₂ from biogas and reuse it in closed‑farm systems. The project, running May 2026‑May 2027, will install a pressure‑swing adsorption unit,...
WA Biotech Duo Takes Aim at Diabetes Beyond Ozempic
Australian biotech duo ProGenis Pharmaceuticals and Syngenis Labs are developing RNA‑based antisense therapies that target insulin resistance, a root cause of type‑2 diabetes, to complement GLP‑1 drugs. Syngenis is building Australia’s first GMP‑grade synthetic DNA/RNA manufacturing facility, expected to be...
New Open-Source Tool Uses Gradient Descent to Determine QSP Phase Angles
Independent researcher Ross Peili released an open‑source demo that trains Quantum Signal Processing (QSP) phase angles using gradient descent. By leveraging PennyLane and JAX, the approach reformulates phase‑angle determination as a variational optimization problem, sidestepping unstable analytic solvers. The demo reproduces...
Beta-Glucan Oligosaccharides Could Lower Cholesterol Levels - Thai Study
A Thai‑led, randomised, placebo‑controlled trial of 96 healthy adults examined daily 2 g supplementation of β‑glucan oligosaccharides versus polysaccharides over 12 weeks. Both forms lowered total cholesterol, but only the oligosaccharide group maintained a significant reduction two weeks after stopping the supplement...
Schumann Resonance: Earth’s Natural Electromagnetic Ringing
Schumann resonance is a global electromagnetic standing wave generated by lightning within the Earth‑ionosphere cavity. The fundamental mode centers around 7.83 Hz, with higher harmonics near 14, 20, 26 and 33 Hz that shift with ionospheric conditions and storm distribution. Researchers monitor...
PYC Therapeutics Advances PKD Program with Phase 1b Multiple Ascending Dose Study Initiation
PYC Therapeutics has dosed the first patient in a Phase 1b multiple‑ascending‑dose (MAD) study of its PKD candidate PYC‑003, targeting safety, tolerability and early efficacy signals such as urinary PC1 protein, total kidney volume and eGFR. Results from the earlier Phase 1a...
Stereotypes of Autism in TV and Film May Be Linked to Delayed Diagnosis, Study Finds
A University of Stirling study finds that stereotypical autism portrayals—white, socially awkward, mathematically gifted males—contribute to delayed diagnosis for autistic women and non‑binary people. Researchers used focus groups and participatory zine‑making to capture participants' experiences, revealing that narrow media images...
The Human Brain Appears to Rely Heavily on the Thighs to Accurately Judge Female Body Size
A University of Western Australia study found that humans judge female body size primarily from the lower body, especially the thighs and hips. In experiments with 99 and 116 female participants, viewing only the bottom half of a body produced...
There Is No Vaccine for Deadly Hantavirus: What that Means for Future Outbreaks
An outbreak of Andes hantavirus on the cruise ship MV Hondius left three confirmed cases and three deaths, highlighting the deadly potential of the rodent‑borne virus. The World Health Organization confirmed the strain has no approved treatments or vaccines. Virologist...
Understand Greenhouse Gas Emissions Vs. Carbon Emissions
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions encompass all heat‑trapping gases released into the atmosphere, while carbon emissions refer specifically to carbon dioxide output. Carbon dioxide is the primary driver of climate change, so the term is often used as shorthand for total...
Stable Depression Subtypes Identified Using Functional Connectome Normative Deviation Models and Their Response to rTMS
Researchers applied functional connectome normative deviation models to a large cohort of patients with major depressive disorder, uncovering three stable neurobiological subtypes. Each subtype displayed distinct patterns of network hyper‑ or hypoconnectivity, particularly within the default mode and frontoparietal circuits....
Self-Adhesive High-Entropy Oxide Sub-Nanowire Monolithic Electrocatalysts
Researchers at Tsinghua University have unveiled a self‑adhesive high‑entropy oxide (HEO) catalyst composed of 14 metal elements arranged into ~1.2 nm sub‑nanowires. The binder‑free monolithic structure adheres directly to conductive substrates, delivering overpotentials as low as 129 mV in 1 M KOH and...
Manufacturing Breakthrough Uses Sound Waves to Create ‘Plant Sunscreen’
RMIT University researchers have created an ultrasonic manufacturing technique that forms UV‑blocking coatings on delicate surfaces, including living plant leaves, using high‑frequency sound waves to atomise a covalent organic framework (COF) liquid into a fine mist. The mist self‑assembles into...
Hourglass Nanographenes Unlock Strong, Robust Multi-Spin Entanglement
Researchers at the National University of Singapore have engineered hourglass‑shaped nanographene molecules that host four interacting electron spins. By extending the classic Clar’s goblet structure, they synthesized two variants—C₆₂H₂₂ and C₇₆H₂₆—using atomically precise on‑surface chemistry. One design generates spins purely...
Underground Mine Voids Enable Large-Scale Energy Storage
A new study shows that abandoned coal‑mine goafs can be transformed into large‑scale compressed‑air energy storage (CAES) reservoirs, using detailed 3D geological modeling to assess volume and stability. The Nanshan Mine case demonstrated that pressurizing the voids between 6 MPa and...
Science Spotlight: New Prime Editing Tools for Large DNA Insertions
BioCentury’s website employs a tiered cookie framework that classifies cookies into strictly necessary, functional, marketing, advertising, and analytics groups. Strictly necessary cookies power core services such as authentication, registration, and user‑preference management, while functional cookies enhance site personalization. Marketing and...
Haiqu Launches Agentic Quantum Operating System to Accelerate Enterprise Quantum R&D
Quantum Machines announced the acquisition of QHarbor and the opening of a new office in Delft, Netherlands, strengthening its software platform and European footprint. A recent weekly round‑up highlighted a surge of investor capital into trapped‑ion and spin‑qubit hardware, with...
Researchers Discover a New Pathway to Building Energy-Efficient Computing Chips
Researchers at UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and SLAC have shown that titanium dioxide (TiO₂) turns ferroelectric when its film thickness drops below three nanometers, and the effect remains stable down to about one nanometer. This ultra‑thin ferroelectric behavior...
From Discovery to GMP: Building Scalable Cell Therapy Manufacturing
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News and ElevateBio released an eBook titled “From Discovery to GMP: Building Scalable Cell Therapy Manufacturing.” It argues that the next growth phase for cell and gene therapies hinges on integrating therapeutic design with manufacturing to...
Increased Solar Activity Accelerates Space Junk Re-Entry
A new 36‑year analysis of 17 tracked debris objects shows that once solar‑activity indices exceed roughly two‑thirds of a cycle’s peak, atmospheric drag spikes and orbital decay accelerates dramatically. The study provides satellite operators with a concrete sunspot‑threshold metric to...
SpaceX Is Starting to Move on From the World's Most Successful Rocket
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch cadence is beginning to taper as the company pivots toward its larger Starship system. After 165 Falcon 9 flights in 2025, the firm projects roughly 140‑145 launches in 2026, with a gradual decline thereafter. The shift is most...
EPA Producing Less Scientific Research After 20% Staffing Cut, Data Shows
The EPA’s peer‑reviewed scientific output fell 17% in 2025 after a 20% staff reduction, producing 275 studies versus 332 the year before. At the current 2026 pace, the agency is projected to publish only 163 papers, far below its 432‑paper...
New Mexico Company Sets Sights on Bolstering the Domestic Supply of Mo-99
Eden Radioisotopes LLC, based in Albuquerque, has submitted a construction permit application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a new radioisotope production facility near Eunice, New Mexico. The plant will focus on manufacturing Molybdenum‑99, a critical isotope used in thousands...
Mapping Molecular Markers of Physical Fitness
MIT, GE HealthCare, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point created a computational model called PhenoMol that links over 100 blood‑based molecular markers to physical‑fitness performance. The study measured more than 50,000 biomarkers in 86 cadets training for a...
How the Rise of Continents May Have Set the Stage for Life on Earth
A new study in *Terra Nova* links the emergence of granite‑rich continents over 3.7 billion years ago to a crucial drop in oceanic boron levels, creating a chemical window suitable for RNA precursor stability. Researchers found that tourmaline, a boron‑bearing mineral...
Membrane Complex Aids Rock-Eating Microbes in Converting Carbon Dioxide to Biomass
Researchers at the Universities of Potsdam and Marburg have detailed the structure of the DAB2 membrane complex in the sulfur bacterium Halothiobacillus neapolitanus. The complex enables lithoautotrophic microbes to convert CO₂ directly into bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻) using the cell’s membrane potential,...
Meet the 2026 Probiota Americas Pioneers: ClostraBio, Holobiome and Kioga
The 2026 Probiota Americas conference in Vancouver will spotlight three early‑stage microbiome innovators—ClostraBio, Holobiome and Kioga—each presenting novel therapeutic platforms. ClostraBio is advancing CLB101, a butyrate‑producing Anaerostipes caccae strain with GRAS status and a global distribution deal. Holobiome leverages a...
ATTR-CM Diagnosis Lags by More Than a Year After HF in Medicare Population
A new JAMA Cardiology study of 7,770 Medicare beneficiaries shows that transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR‑CM) is diagnosed a median of 494 days after an initial heart‑failure (HF) presentation, with delays extending to 840 days when using diuretic use as a...
Giant Squid Discovered Lurking Off the Australian Coast
Researchers from Curtin University used environmental DNA (eDNA) to analyze over 1,700 L of seawater from the steep canyons off Western Australia’s Ningaloo Coast. The study, published in *Environmental DNA*, identified DNA from 226 marine species, including the world’s deepest‑diving mammal...
Cannabis Use Increases Risk of Death, Heart Attack for ED Patients
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch examined over 1.7 million emergency department visits from 2005‑2022, comparing nearly 300,000 patients with recent cannabis‑use disorder to matched controls. The study found a 2.9% three‑year mortality rate for cannabis users versus 1.7%...
How Quasars Shut Down Star Formation in the Early Universe
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified fast, galaxy‑scale winds in a sample of 27 quasars that existed within the first billion years after the Big Bang. Six of these quasars exhibit outflows reaching 5,000 mi/s (8,400 km/s), speeds that...
Ancient Bite Marks Suggest Tyrannosaurs Were Not Just Hunters
A team from Aarhus University used 3‑D scanning to document 16 bite marks on a 75‑million‑year‑old tyrannosaur metatarsal. The marks, made by a smaller tyrannosaur, show that the larger animal was scavenged after death rather than killed outright. The research,...
MIT Scientists Discover Millions of “Silent Synapses” In the Adult Brain
MIT neuroscientists have identified that roughly 30 percent of cortical synapses in adult mice are "silent," lacking AMPA receptors and remaining electrically inactive until needed for memory formation. Using the eMAP tissue‑expansion technique, they visualized abundant filopodia that contain only NMDA...
How NASA’s Chief Plans to Bring Back the Moonwalk — And Beat China
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman outlined a renewed push to land astronauts on the Moon by 2027, leveraging the Artemis III mission and a $10 billion budget boost. He emphasized building an enduring lunar presence, a demand signal for 30 landers and...
Want Stronger Concrete? Just Add Oysters.
Researchers at Purdue University have engineered a biomimetic cement inspired by oyster shells, replicating the calcium carbonate and protein matrix oysters use to bind reef structures. In laboratory trials the oyster‑based additive made concrete up to ten times stronger and...
Death-Defying Protein Found in Tardigrades Preserves Synthetic Cells
Researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago have shown that the tardigrade‑derived protein CAHS12 can protect synthetic cells from dehydration. By embedding CAHS12 into lipid‑bound vesicles, the engineered cells survived drying and regained protein‑making activity after...
A New Way to Read the Universe Could Sharpen Understanding of Cosmic Expansion and Dark Energy
An international team led by the University of Barcelona introduced CIGaRS, a Bayesian hierarchical framework that derives precise cosmological distances from Type Ia supernova images alone. By integrating supernova physics, host‑galaxy properties, dust effects, and cosmic expansion into a single simulation‑based...
The GLP-1 Paradox Study: Here’s What People Really Think About Your Ozempic Weight Loss
A Rice University study published in the International Journal of Obesity reveals a surprising social bias: people who lose weight using GLP‑1 drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy or Zepbound are judged more harshly than those who lose weight through diet...
Alaska’s 1,500ft Mega-Tsunami Slams Fjord As Tour Boats Somehow Survive (Video)
In August 2025 a massive landslide in Alaska's Tracy Arm fjord displaced roughly 2.26 billion cubic feet of rock, triggering a 1,500‑foot tsunami—the second‑largest ever recorded. The wave surged up the fjord walls and back, yet all tour boats on the...
Data Fusion Provides a High-Definition Look at Mars' Temperature Maps
Researchers at Curtin University applied a data‑fusion technique that blends low‑resolution THEMIS infrared data with high‑resolution CRISM spectral imagery, using an Extra Tree Regressor to predict thermal inertia at 12‑meter scale. The resulting thermal maps dramatically sharpen Mars’ temperature profile,...
Quantum Geometry Applied to Light-Based Systems Expands Toolkit for Topological Photonics
Researchers Anton Montag and Tomoki Ozawa have extended quantum geometry to non‑Hermitian photonic systems, publishing their findings in Physical Review Research. They demonstrated programmable artificial potentials for light that control gain and loss, and introduced a direct experimental method to measure...
These Beetles Might Be Flying Ubers for Worms
Scientists documented nematodes forming vertical towers on rotting fruit in German orchards, marking the first wild observation of this behavior previously seen only in labs. The towers belong to a newly described species, Caenorhabditis apta, which clusters on invasive sap‑sucking...
Early Intervention an Unmet Need in Diabetic Macular Edema
A Delphi study presented at the ARVO meeting highlighted a major gap in diabetic macular edema (DME) care: 60% of patients remain untreated one year after diagnosis. Experts reached consensus that early, non‑invasive treatment could stabilize vision and curb inflammation...
Casimir Forces in Twisted Anisotropic Gratings: A Path to Self-Tuning Nanophotonic Systems
A team from Skoltech and MIPT demonstrated that twisted anisotropic photonic gratings experience a Casimir torque that drives them to a non‑zero equilibrium rotation angle. Unlike symmetric configurations, the broken mirror symmetry creates an in‑plane chirality, causing the energy minimum...