China Space Breakthroughs Forecast
China’s aerospace giant CASC announced an aggressive rollout of missions through 2025, including the Chang’e‑7 lunar probe to scout the Moon’s south pole, the Hubble‑class Xuntian space telescope, and a massive Guowang broadband satellite constellation. The Tiangong space station will receive new modules and upgraded robotic arms, while a next‑generation crewed spacecraft is slated for development. Officials say these steps could position China as the second nation to land astronauts on the Moon. The initiatives reflect a coordinated push to expand scientific, commercial, and strategic capabilities in low‑Earth and deep‑space arenas.
What’s Safe to Eat? Birds of a Feather Learn Together
Australian sulfur‑crested cockatoos use social learning to decide if new foods are safe, a behavior documented in a recent PLOS Biology study. Researchers observed the birds watching a peer eat colored almonds before sampling the snack themselves. The findings show...
Pregnant, Postpartum Women Struggle to Overcome Selenium Deficiency: Study
A multicountry analysis of the Women First trial examined whether a lipid‑based supplement containing 130 µg of selenium could improve maternal selenium status in Guatemala, India and Pakistan. The researchers found that supplementation did not raise serum selenium levels, which actually...
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NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day showcased a video that simulates waves on Earth and on Saturn’s moon Titan under identical breezes. Researchers explain that Titan’s low gravity, dense atmosphere and lakes of liquid hydrocarbons produce taller, slower‑moving waves compared...
Non-Tobacco Nicotine Products Tied to Pregnancy, Labor Complications
A multi‑institutional study of 77,549 pregnant patients presented at the ACOG meeting found that non‑tobacco nicotine use—primarily vaping and nicotine pouches—significantly raises the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preterm labor, cesarean delivery, and maternal death. Relative risks ranged from...
T-Shirts Have Become a Facial Recognition Threat, a New Study Shows How to Stop It
Researchers at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences have demonstrated that T‑shirts printed with human faces can reliably fool popular facial‑recognition systems. Testing three open‑source detectors—RetinaFace, MTCNN and dlib—on the TFPA database of 1,600 images yielded detection rates above 99 percent,...
Here’s Why Dreams During Naps Are So Weird
A Paris Brain Institute team recorded 92 habitual nappers as they fell asleep while holding a bottle that would wake them. Participants rated their mental experience, revealing four distinct clusters ranging from fleeting memories to bizarre, uncontrolled imagery. EEG data...
Bill Nye Demonstrates Experiments that Break Down Artemis II Mission
Bill Nye, chief ambassador of The Planetary Society, appeared on CBS Mornings to break down NASA’s Artemis II mission with hands‑on experiments. Using a turntable Earth‑Moon model, he illustrated the launch, trans‑lunar injection, lunar flyby and re‑entry phases. The segment highlighted...
Gut Microbe’s Sulfated Bile Acid Eases Pediatric Sepsis
Researchers identified deoxycholic acid 3‑sulfate (DCA‑3S) as a gut‑derived metabolite that mitigates pediatric sepsis. Metabolomic and metagenomic analyses revealed Enterococcus raffinosus as the primary producer, accounting for over 80 % of DCA‑3S synthesis. In mouse models, DCA‑3S restored intestinal barrier integrity and dampened...
STAT+: Axsome Wins FDA Nod for Alzheimer’s Agitation
Axsome Therapeutics announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted a regulatory nod for its investigational therapy aimed at treating agitation in Alzheimer’s disease. The agency’s decision clears the path for accelerated clinical development, potentially moving the drug...
Novel Pulsed Field Ablation Technology ‘Works’
A first‑in‑human trial of Pulse Biosciences' nanosecond pulsed‑field ablation (CellFX nsPFA 360) treated 177 patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The catheter delivered >10,000 V nanosecond pulses, achieving 100% acute lesion success and 91% durability at 2‑3 months. At one year, 89.7% of patients remained free...
Artemis Astronauts Talk "Bird Bath" Showers, Space Exploration Dream and More
Artemis crew members fielded live questions from students, sharing candid details about daily life aboard the lunar gateway. They described the unconventional "bird bath" shower method that uses a no‑gravity rinse, and recounted a recent toilet malfunction that underscored waste‑management...
DESI-HVS1 Is an Old Hypervelocity Star Ejected From the Galactic Center, Observations Suggest
Chinese astronomers using DESI and Gaia have identified DESI‑HVS1, an old, metal‑poor F‑type star traveling at about 523 km s⁻¹. At roughly 12,300 light‑years away, its trajectory points to an ejection from the Galactic Center 12.9 million years ago with an initial speed near...
AI Processing of Earth Images Can Now Run In Space
Planet Labs has demonstrated the first successful run of AI image processing on a satellite, using its Pelican‑4 platform to automatically detect and box more than a dozen aircraft at an Australian airport. The onboard NVIDIA Jetson ORIN GPU analyzes a...
Peptides Are Unproven as Health Aids. FDA May Unleash Them Anyway
The FDA is poised to broaden access to injectable peptides by allowing compounding pharmacies to produce them and by considering their inclusion in oral dietary supplements. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly opposed what he...
The Expert on 'Super Aging' Breaks Down the Science — and Grift — in Anti-Aging
Cardiologist Eric Topol argues that the anti‑aging boom should shift from chasing longevity to extending health span, the years free of major disease. His research on “Super Agers” over 80 showed genetics play a modest role, while exercise, sleep, social...
Programmable RNA Targeting via DNA-Guided CRISPR-Cas12a
A team of molecular biologists has reengineered the CRISPR‑Cas12a nuclease to cleave RNA using a DNA guide, creating a programmable RNA‑targeting platform. The DNA‑guided Cas12a system achieved up to 90% knockdown of endogenous transcripts in human cell lines and functioned...
Cu-Ion Crosslinked Membranes Boost High-Temp Fuel Cells
Researchers have unveiled a copper‑ion crosslinked polymer electrolyte membrane that dramatically improves high‑temperature proton‑exchange fuel cells. The new membrane delivers up to 45% higher proton conductivity at 200 °C and sustains 5,000 hours of thermal‑cycling durability. Bench tests show a 30% boost...
Hunting the Elusive Eta Aquariid Meteors
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks on the night of May 5‑6, 2026, offering a Zenithal Hourly Rate that can reach 60‑100 meteors per hour. Its radiant sits just south of the celestial equator, giving northern observers only a narrow pre‑dawn...
Under Crushing Hypergravity, Fruit Flies Adapt—And Recover
UC Riverside researchers exposed fruit flies to hypergravity up to 13 G using a custom centrifuge. The insects not only survived but reproduced, showing distinct behavioral shifts: 4 G triggered prolonged hyper‑activity, while 7–13 G suppressed movement. Over weeks, activity levels normalized, accompanied...
AI-Powered Forecasts Sharpen Early Warning for Destructive Crop Pest
Texas A&M AgriLife researchers used machine‑learning models to forecast western flower thrips populations with up to 88% accuracy in open fields and 85% in high‑tunnel environments. The study analyzed data from nearly 1,700 yellow sticky traps and 16 environmental variables,...
Why some Cats Love Dogs—Despite the Risk
Researchers documented four instances of interspecies play between a young ring‑tailed lemur and an adult ruffed lemur at a German wildlife park. The study, published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, highlights how captivity’s close proximity enables animals to overcome...
Physicists Have Measured 'Negative Time' In the Lab
Physicists at the University of Toronto have experimentally measured a negative dwell time for photons passing through a rubidium atomic cloud, confirming a long‑standing quantum oddity. By firing single photons and a weak probe laser simultaneously, they recorded both early...
C&EN Weekly Chemistry News Quiz, May 1
The latest C&EN weekly quiz spotlights several breakthrough chemistry stories. University of Oregon researchers demonstrated that cyclic voltammetry can accurately gauge coffee roast strength, offering a rapid quality‑control tool. Sun Pharma’s $11 billion acquisition of Organon propels it to the fifth‑largest...
May 1, 1949: The Discovery of Nereid
On May 1 1949 astronomer Gerard Kuiper identified Neptune’s third‑largest moon, Nereid, from photographic plates taken with the McDonald Observatory’s 82‑inch telescope. The moon follows an unusually eccentric 360‑day orbit, swinging between roughly 850,000 mi and 6 million mi from its planet. Nereid is the largest...
How Does Hormonal Birth Control Work?
Oura’s Cycle Insights now includes Hormonal Birth Control support, letting users track how various contraceptives influence temperature, heart‑rate variability, resting heart rate, and sleep. The article breaks down combined pills, patches and rings, progestin‑only pills, implants, IUDs, and injections, explaining...
Pushed by Trump Policies, Top U.S. Battery Scientist Is Moving to Singapore
Shirley Meng, a leading UChicago materials scientist and director of the $62 million DOE Energy Storage Research Alliance, will become vice‑president for innovation and global affairs at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University on July 1. She cites the Trump administration’s immigration rules and...
Rocket Report: Falcon Heavy Is Back; Russia's Soyuz-5 Finally Debuts
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy lifted off from Florida on April 29, marking its first flight since October 2024 and delivering a ViaSat‑3 broadband satellite. Russia debuted its new Soyuz‑5 rocket from Baikonur, a sub‑orbital test that replaces the aging Zenit family. In the same...
A Better Way to Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Astrophysicist Benjamin Zuckerman challenges conventional SETI assumptions by proposing that extraterrestrial intelligences would favor highly directional transmissions rather than isotropic broadcasts. He argues that existing astronomical surveys across radio, infrared, and optical wavelengths can be repurposed to detect such beamed...
ESA Opens Applications for Hands-On Earth Observation Mission Design Course
The European Space Agency has opened applications for its 2026 Earth Observation Satellite Systems Design Training Course, a two‑week intensive program where 30 students will design a complete EO mission. The on‑site week runs 28 September‑2 October at ESA’s Academy in ESEC‑Galaxia,...
Space Nuclear Execs Cheer the FY27 Budget Proposal
NASA’s FY27 budget proposal earmarks roughly $675 million for space nuclear initiatives, signaling a strategic shift toward nuclear power for lunar and Mars missions. The plan includes $438.8 million for Mars‑focused fission reactors, $135.3 million for radioisotope power systems, and $100.9 million for infrastructure...
Nearly Half of Wolves in Italy Are Now Part Dog
Genetic testing of 748 wolf carcasses collected across Italy reveals that 47% are wolf‑dog hybrids, a stark increase from the first hybrid identified in the 1970s. The hybrids are most prevalent in central and southern regions where free‑roaming dogs are...
AstraZeneca’s Breast Cancer Drug Fails to Earn Backing of FDA Advisory Committee
The FDA’s advisory committee voted against recommending AstraZeneca’s oral SERD camizestrant for HR⁺/HER2‑ metastatic breast cancer patients with an ESR1 mutation, citing concerns over the Phase 3 SERENA‑6 trial design. The study switched patients to camizestrant at the point of mutation...
Conservative Social Attitudes Are Linked to Higher Fertility Across 72 Countries, with Stronger Effects Among Women
A new study of 78,754 respondents from 72 countries finds that people who endorse more conservative social attitudes—right‑wing ideology, higher religiosity, preference for religious partners, and lower support for gender equality—tend to have more biological children. The association is modest...
BIO on the American Road Tours Gene Therapy Hub in Ohio
BIO President John F. Crowley toured Ohio on April 28, spotlighting the state’s emerging gene‑therapy hub. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have delivered two of the FDA’s first eight approved gene therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy type 1....
Ultrasound as a New Wireless Power Transfer Technology
A research team from Korea Institute of Science and Technology and Korea University has created a biocompatible ultrasonic receiver that can bend without losing performance. The device converts ultrasonic waves into electricity, delivering 20 mW at 3 cm underwater and 7 mW through...
Corcept Ties ALS Drug to Improved 2-Year Survival as Phase 3 Start Date Nears
Corcept Therapeutics reported that its experimental ALS drug dazucorilant reduced the two‑year risk of death by roughly 87% in a Phase 2 extension study, despite missing its primary motor‑function endpoint. The survival benefit was most pronounced at the 300 mg dose, though...
ZettaJoule Pursues a Second Act for Japan’s High-Temperature Nuclear Reactor
Houston‑based ZettaJoule is adapting Japan’s High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor design into a 950 °C high‑temperature gas‑cooled reactor (HTGR) called ZJ0. The startup signed an MOU with Texas A&M’s Engineering Experiment Station to explore building the prototype on campus, with TEES...
MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Depression: A Promising but Early First Step
A small open‑label proof‑of‑principle study examined MDMA‑assisted therapy in 12 adults with moderate‑to‑severe major depressive disorder. Participants received two MDMA dosing sessions spaced a month apart together with nine psychotherapy sessions. At two months, 75% of participants achieved remission and...
Approaches to Reducing Toxicity and Side Effects in Cell and Gene Therapy
Cell and gene therapies are expanding rapidly, with the market projected to exceed $9 billion in 2025 and grow over 15% annually through 2035. Safety remains a hurdle, prompting multiple strategies to curb cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and related toxicities. Companies...
Gene Editing at Scale, Clinic Seeks Generalizable Therapies
Integrated DNA Technologies helped deliver a CRISPR therapy that rescued baby KJ Muldoon from a fatal urea‑cycle disorder, proving gene editing can correct a single disease‑causing mutation. The success highlights the field’s next hurdle: scaling personalized edits for disorders with...
Smarter AAVs Drive Gene Therapy’s Next Chapter
Gene therapy’s growth is hampered by AAV manufacturing bottlenecks, safety concerns, and high costs, prompting a wave of innovations across bioprocessing, analytics, and vector design. Companies like Thermo Fisher, PackGene, Catalent, and Asimov are deploying design‑space modeling, high‑throughput purification, and...
What’s Next in the Evolution of Standards for Biologics Development
The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) is redefining how documentary standards support biologics, moving from product‑specific monographs toward a hybrid model that blends platform‑based chapters, emerging standards, and analytical reference materials. This shift addresses the growing complexity of monoclonal antibodies, ADCs,...
We Are Preparing to Transform the Moon and Mars. The Public Must Have a Say in This Future | Ben...
Artemis II’s successful deep‑space splashdown proved humans can travel farther than ever before and set the stage for Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time in over 50 years. NASA, its international partners, and private...
How Do Close Binary Stars Form?
Roughly half of Sun‑like stars exist in binary or higher‑order systems, prompting a long‑standing debate over their origin. A new preprint by Ryan Sponzilli et al. argues that disk fragmentation—where a massive protostellar disk becomes unstable and splits—dominates the formation of...
DARPA Selects Three Companies for Lunar Orbiter Studies
DARPA has awarded Phase 1 contracts to Benchmark Space Systems, Quantum Space and Revolution Space for its Lunar Assay via Small Satellite Orbiter (LASSO) program. The mission will search for lunar water ice concentrations above 5% while operating in an ultra‑low...
What Is the Kardashev Scale, and Can We Climb It?
The article revisits the Kardashev scale—a 1964 framework that ranks civilizations by their energy use—and examines why Elon Musk’s ambition to reach a Type II status may be more hype than feasible. It notes humanity is currently around Type 0.7, far from...
Identifying the Ages when Alzheimer’s Biomarkers Sharply Change
A Mayo Clinic Study of Aging analysis identified specific ages when Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers change sharply, using breakpoint regression on plasma proteins, PET imaging, hippocampal volume and cognition across 45‑90‑year‑olds. The most consistent inflection points clustered between 62 and 71...
Deep-Earth Map Reveals a Lost U.S. Continent
The 20‑million‑dollar Magnetotelluric (MT) Array has released its final 3‑D conductivity map of the United States, revealing a massive, previously hidden crustal slab dubbed the Piedmont Resistor that stretches from Maine to Georgia. The slab, formed by volcanic activity during...
7 Ways To Naturally Boost GLP-1 Production & Improve Metabolism
A new review in Toxicology Reports compiles evidence that several foods and plant compounds can naturally boost glucagon‑like peptide‑1 (GLP‑1) activity, the hormone targeted by prescription drugs such as Ozempic. The analysis highlights berberine, cinnamon extract, ginger, green tea, curcumin,...