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Artemis II crew moon photo annotations
A visualization of a dark moon eclipsing the sun is marked with handwritten notes in this April 6, 2026, screenshot from an Artemis II crew member's tablet.
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Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
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How a harmful bacterium senses iron—and why it matters for fighting infections
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common culprit in hospital-acquired bacterial infections and is growing more resistant to antibiotics. New findings from Aaron Smith, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UMBC, and collaborators at Oklahoma State University show how a two-protein system inside the bacterium operates like a sensitive switch: The pair detects iron both outside and inside the cell and then rewrites large parts of the microbe's metabolism in response.
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International experience gives business leaders an edge, study finds
Business leaders with international experience play a significant role in shaping the success of their organizations and are often associated with stronger organizational performance, including higher growth, profitability and stock market performance, according to a new study published in the Journal of Management.
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Superbug P. aeruginosa uses two protein plugs to seal channels against antibiotics
A joint research team has identified a new mechanism underlying antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a major multidrug-resistant "superbug." The discovery provides important clues for the development of new treatments for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.
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Chain reaction that begins when tumor suppression gene is switched off offers clues to how cancer develops
A tumor suppressor gene known as p53 is mutated in more than half of all cancers, but how it acts to prevent cancer formation is largely unknown. A study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers sheds light on this phenomenon by showing what happens when p53 becomes disabled, revealing the gene's diverse roles in maintaining healthy metabolic activity, repressing mobile genes called retrotransposons and preventing cells from adopting features of sperm and eggs.
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Nobel physics winner's pride at pioneering AI role
Francis Halzen, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, spoke with pride on Wednesday about his early promotion of artificial intelligence in his research on neutrinos.
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Offshore wind turbine foundations may cool ocean surface by mixing seawater
New research within the PELAgIO ECOWind project has revealed how offshore wind farms can influence ocean temperatures and mixing, and why their effects depend on local conditions.
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Survey finds K-12 educators self-censor to avoid controversy over book selections
Elementary school teachers often put such care into creating their classroom libraries: shelving multiple copies of each book, stringing lights around them to set the mood, situating beanbag chairs and magic carpet squares strategically to encourage students to settle in.
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NYC congestion pricing policy linked to cleaner air in lower Manhattan
One year after New York City launched its congestion pricing policy, fine particulate pollution inside Manhattan's congestion relief zone was 13% lower, according to a new analysis that accounted for regional pollution trends, weather and normal year-to-year variability.
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First-in-kind data set reveals insights across the world's national and regional economies
The University of Virginia has published the Global Capitalism Index (GCI), a first-in-kind data set offering unprecedented insights into the globe's capitalism conditions in every country. Assembled from more than two hundred data sets across eight key pillars, the GCI's country-by-country scores offer an array of ways to understand capitalism around the world.
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Long Island measurements reveal household products and buildings as major summer pollution sources
Products such as hairspray, paint and household disinfectants are increasingly causing summertime air pollution—and cities aren't accounting for it, which makes it harder to issue air quality advisories and enact regulations, new research from Colorado State University, the University of Minnesota and Purdue University shows.
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Hawaiian hot spot study uncovers evidence of true polar wander
On Earth, everything is moving. The planet spins, the tectonic plates shift and the spin axis wobbles, as do the magnetic poles, which makes determining how things move a rather tricky proposition. For Rice University's Richard Gordon, this problem came up when he was trying to understand the history of the Hawaiian hot spot, the deep-mantle source of the volcanism that created the Hawaiian–Emperor chain of islands and underwater volcanoes.
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Eight-year analysis reveals how sunlight and nutrients shape sustainable urban farming
Factors such as sunlight and stage-specific nutrient application determine crop success in urban agriculture, far beyond fixed recipes or miracle solutions. The findings are published in the journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development.
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'Self-blinking dyes' simplify nanoscale imaging without sacrificing precision
Nanobodies are extremely small antibody fragments that bind to specific molecules. When nanobodies are labeled with dyes, they can be used as probes to enhance super-resolution microscopy. However, conventional blinking dyes often perform poorly when attached to nanobodies, limiting their practical advantages. An international research team led by the University of Göttingen and the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) has now shown that self-blinking dyes—which can switch between bright and dark states on their own—bypass this limitation.
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Undergraduate student may have solved puzzle regarding isolated galaxies that have stopped producing stars
An undergraduate astrophysics student at UC Berkeley has found three unusual galaxies—cataloged as Shapiro Dwarf Galaxies I, II and III. Each galaxy is far from other galaxies and has stopped making stars, a combination that is extremely rare. The discovery, published in The Astrophysical Journal, provides compelling observational evidence of a long-held astronomical theory.
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New approach to plant stress studies could yield hardier crops and medical insights
At the University of Missouri, plant scientist Ron Mittler is rewriting the playbook for how scientists study life by asking what happens when living organisms face multiple stresses at once.
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New polystyrene uses 50% plant-based material and breaks into fragments for potential recycling
Polystyrene is used in protective packaging for televisions and electronic devices, in decorative boards and baseboards for interior construction, and in petri dishes. It is one of the world's most important plastics, with nearly 20 million tons produced each year. The material is predominantly derived from crude oil and is rarely recycled. Virgin polystyrene is often cheaper than recycled material, meaning that used products are typically incinerated or sent to landfills. Like many other plastics, polystyrene is highly resistant to degradation in the environment.
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Ultrashort laser pulses let new microscope map electron interactions across thin materials
A new type of advanced microscope (wide-field coherent multidimensional microscopy) has been developed. It uses a carefully designed sequence of ultrashort light pulses to study the behavior of high-tech materials, with potential practical applications in the study of innovative materials such as those used to build solar panels. This is the result of work by a research group of physicists from the Faculty of Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, and Natural Sciences at Università Cattolica's Brescia campus who, for the first time, have developed a "multidimensional microscope" that, in a sense, records the behavior of materials.
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Ebola creates new hot spots in Congo as responders describe 'chaotic' response
The Ebola outbreak in Congo is creating new hot spots where there's little to no support for patients, responders and officials say, as health workers admit there could still be a long way to go in fighting the disease that has killed over 4,000 people.
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First global genome atlas reveals overlooked microscopic life in hundreds of lakes and reservoirs
Tiny single-celled organisms help keep lakes clear, but some can also contaminate the water. An international research team has analyzed DNA data from 362 lakes to create the first global genome atlas of these organisms. With the findings now published in Nature Communications, the new atlas lays the foundation for faster and more precise monitoring of lakes.