EverythingScience

Using scientific instruments in novel ways is a common practice, but still results in significant new discoveries. But sometimes, it doesn’t happen so much as a “that’s funny” moment as an intentional new use of old equipment. A new paper from researchers that Imperial College London (ICL), PhD student Solomon Hirsch and his advisor Mark Sephton, shows how the gas chromatograph-mass spectrometers that have been a mainstay of Martian probes since the Viking era could be used to find extant life there.

Hundreds of unexpectedly energetic objects have been discovered throughout the distant universe, possibly hinting that the cosmos was far more active during its infancy than astronomers once believed.

Using deep-field images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), researchers at the University of Missouri identified 300 unusually bright objects in the early universe. While they could be galaxies, astronomers aren't yet sure what they are for certain. Galaxies forming so soon after the Big Bang should be faint, limited by the pace at which they could form stars. Yet these candidates shine far brighter than current models of early galaxy formation predict.

Space-time is frequently described as the "fabric of reality." In some accounts, this fabric is referred to as a fixed, four-dimensional "block universe"—a complete map of all events, past, present and future.

In others, it's a dynamic field that bends and curves in response to gravity. But what does it really mean to say that space-time exists? What kind of thing is it—is space-time structure, substance or metaphor?

The ways our eyes explore the world change subtly over time, affected by age and illness.

A new study now suggests some of those changes could be used to identify problems with memory and cognition.

Researchers from Canada and the West Indies built on previous work by searching for variations in eye viewing patterns in people with and without a diagnosis for a brain health issue.

Astronauts lose 1-2% of their bone mass every month in space.

Now scientists think they may have found the cellular culprit, and they are testing ways to try to stop it. Read more: https://t.co/1UvRWSL4Qy

On this day a legend was born. 💫

Today, we remember the legacy of NASA's super computer, Katherine G. Johnson. Katherine laid the groundwork for humanity's first flight to the moon by calculating the orbital equations that would control the trajectory in John Glenn's Friendship 7 mission. She later went on to support countless missions that led to endless scientific discoveries. 🚀🌙

Katherine's hard work and dedication will continue to inspire many generations to pursue the unimaginable and make the impossible, possible.

"Do your best. But like it! Like what you do; then you will do your best."
- Katherine Johnson

Unlike solar panels, solar thermoelectric generators can convert heat from any source into electricity. But poor efficiency has held the technology back – until now.

Scientists seeking ways to amp up the capabilities of solar power generators have discovered a method that can boost their efficiency by a factor of 15.

The breakthrough lies in a unique, laser-etched "black metal" developed by researchers over the past five years, which they now hope to use in solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs).

New OSIRIS-REx science results from asteroid Bennu reveal:

✅ Stardust older than our solar system
✅ Organics formed in interstellar space
✅ High-temp minerals formed near the Sun

Together, they show how Bennu’s parent body formed from diverse materials mixed across the early solar system.

A trio of papers published in Nature Astronomy and Nature Geoscience unfolds the long history enclosed in tiny Bennu samples. Read more

Jupiter holds secrets at its heart that continue to puzzle scientists. The largest planet in our Solar System has what researchers call a "dilute core,” a central region that doesn't have sharp boundaries like once expected. Instead of a distinct rocky centre surrounded by layers of gas, Jupiter's core gradually blends into the hydrogen-rich layers above it, creating a smooth transition zone.

This unusual structure was first discovered by NASA's Juno spacecraft, which has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016. The finding surprised astronomers, who had assumed giant planets would have more clearly defined cores. The mystery deepened when observations revealed that Saturn appears to have a similar dilute core structure.

One popular explanation for Jupiter's fuzzy core involved a catastrophic collision early in the planet's history. Scientists theorised that a massive object, perhaps containing half of Jupiter's core material, crashed into the young planet with such force that it thoroughly mixed the central region. This collision would have been so violent that it scrambled the dense rock and ice at Jupiter's centre with the lighter hydrogen and helium surrounding it.

A team of researchers at Durham University decided to put this giant impact theory to the test using powerful computer simulations. Working with scientists from NASA, SETI, and the University of Oslo, they used the DiRAC COSMA supercomputer to model what would happen when massive objects collide with Jupiter sized planets. The team ran multiple simulations using cutting edge software, testing various impact scenarios including extremely violent collisions. They employed new methods to better simulate how materials would mix during such catastrophic events.

To help, Centre national de la recherche scientifique in France developed a coronagraph attachment for the JWST’s MIRI instrument which can reproduce the effect observed during an eclipse. Such masking makes objects around a star easier to observe.

With infinite stars it's necessary to find targets of opportunity so astronomers focus on younger stars where the planets are still hot and the system discs can be viewed by us 'from above' - pole on.

TWA 7 has three distinct rings, one very narrow and surrounded by two empty areas with almost no matter. JWST was able to find a source within the heart of this narrow ring - an exoplanet.

The new planet is comparable in size to Saturn, but that is 10 times lighter than those captured in previous images, and has been named TWA 7 b.

New Moon of Uranus 🪐

Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope discovered a new moon orbiting Uranus in images taken by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera). This image shows the moon, designated S/2025 U1, as well as 13 of the 28 other known moons orbiting the planet. (The small moon Cordelia orbits just inside the outermost ring, but is not visible in these views due to glare from the rings.) Due to the drastic differences in brightness levels, the image is a composite of three different treatments of the data, allowing the viewer to see details in the planetary atmosphere, the surrounding rings, and the orbiting moons. The data was taken with NIRCam’s wide band F150W2 filter that transmits infrared wavelengths from about 1.0 to 2.4 microns.

Credit: NASA esa csa asc STScI, M. El Moutamid (SwRI), M. Hedman (University of Idaho)

Your package has arrived... at the Space Station 📬

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, carrying cargo and scientific experiments, docked with the orbiting laboratory at 7:05am ET (1105 UTC).

#PPOD: NASA's Psyche Images Earth 🌍 and Moon 🌖

That bright speck isn't a star – it's Earth! And the dot above it is the Moon. The Psyche mission captured this image from 290 million kilometers away while calibrating its cameras. The spacecraft is en route to a metal-rich asteroid between Mars and Jupiter.

Credit: NASA NASAJPL Caltech ASU

Physicists at the University of Sydney have achieved a breakthrough in quantum computing by creating a universal logic gate inside a single atom.

Using a powerful error-correcting system known as the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code — often called the “Rosetta Stone” of quantum computing — they managed to entangle vibrations of a trapped ion. This achievement drastically reduces the number of physical qubits needed, tackling one of the biggest hurdles in scaling quantum computers and bringing practical, large-scale quantum machines closer to reality.

Like Jupiter's moon Europa, and Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus, scientists have speculated that Ceres could be an "Ocean World," meaning that it could have a liquid water interior that could support life. Dawn's findings indicated that the planetoid is too cold in its interior to prevent water from freezing, and any liquid it contains is likely to be concentrated brines. But according to new research by NASA scientists, Ceres may have had the right conditions to support single-celled lifeforms about 2.5 to 4 billion years ago.

Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified how a hormone binds to a receptor on immune cells, allowing cancer cells to evade the body’s defenses. The study, published in Nature Immunology, points to potential new directions in cancer immunotherapy and may also open avenues for treating inflammatory and neurological conditions.

Déjà vu? Professor Avi Loeb has sparked controversy by suggesting - again - that a recently detected interstellar body passing through the Solar System (3I/ATLAS) could be an alien spacecraft. Today, we dive into what he his claiming and whether it holds up - just the science.