Science
Topic feedNASA Announces Artemis III Crew for 2027 Earth Orbit Mission Ahead of Lunar South Pole Landing
NASA announced the four-person crew for Artemis III, scheduled for 2027, with Commander Randy Bresnik, Pilot Luca Parmitano, and mission specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas. The mission will conduct critical tests in Earth orbit including rendezvous and docking operations with commercial lunar landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX. This milestone advances NASA's Artemis program toward the 2028 Artemis IV mission, which aims to land humans at the lunar South Pole.
World's First AI-Designed Vaccine Component Tested in Humans
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a vaccine with a key component designed entirely by artificial intelligence, which has now undergone human testing for the first time. This represents a significant milestone in applying AI to vaccine development, a field traditionally reliant on manual design processes. The advancement could potentially accelerate vaccine development timelines and improve efficacy for future infectious diseases.
NASA Announces Four Astronauts Selected for Artemis III Moon Lander Testing Mission
NASA named four astronauts—Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio, and Andre Douglas—who will launch in 2025 to test commercially developed lunar landers in Earth orbit before a planned 2028 moon landing. The mission represents a shift from NASA's original plan to land on the moon, now focusing on testing rendezvous and docking operations with SpaceX or Blue Origin landers. The successful completion of Artemis III is critical to NASA's goal of landing Americans on the moon before China achieves the same by 2030.
MIT Researchers Develop 3D-Printed Nozzle Array for Drug-Delivery Microparticle Production
MIT researchers have created a low-cost design for 3D-printed triaxial electrospray emitters that could efficiently manufacture time-release drug-delivery particles and self-healing materials at scale. The nozzle array represents an advancement in electrospray technology, which has previously been limited by high costs and manufacturing complexity. This development could significantly reduce production costs and enable broader commercial applications in pharmaceutical and materials manufacturing.
Archaeologists discover possibly oldest Maya Long Count calendar date at El Palmar site
Archaeologists at El Palmar in Mexico have discovered what may be the earliest known Long Count calendar date in the Maya lowlands, carved into a stone monument and dated to August 31, AD 180. The Long Count calendar was a sophisticated timekeeping system used by ancient Maya civilization to track longer periods of time. The discovery could provide insights into how early Maya rulers used calendrical knowledge to legitimize their authority and power.
New Label-Free Method Identifies Human Eosinophils Using Near-Infrared Light
Researchers developed a novel flow cytometry technique using 808 nm near-infrared side scatter to identify human eosinophils without antibody labels or staining. The method addresses limitations of conventional flow cytometry, which struggles to distinguish eosinophils from similar neutrophils. This advancement could improve diagnosis and monitoring of eosinophil-related disorders while simplifying clinical testing procedures.
Study Shows Helminth Infection May Protect Against Obesity Through Immune Protein RELMa
Researchers found that transient helminth infection in mice prevented weight gain and improved glucose tolerance through activation of an immunoregulatory protein called RELMa. The protection persisted even after the parasite was cleared, and involved changes in adipose tissue composition and gene expression. This discovery could inform new therapeutic approaches to combat obesity by targeting immune mechanisms rather than the parasites themselves.
Functional Ultrasound Imaging Reveals Pathway-Specific Visual System Changes in CLN3 Disease Model
Researchers used functional ultrasound imaging to study how CLN3 disease affects visual processing in the mouse brain before severe retinal damage occurs. The study found that different visual pathways show distinct changes, with some regions showing enhanced activity while others show reduced activity. These findings could help understand early visual dysfunction in juvenile Batten disease and improve detection of neurological changes in neurodegenerative disorders.
Scientists discover unicellular organism that sheds light on evolution of animal multicellularity
Researchers found that Ministeria vibrans, a single-celled marine organism closely related to animals, forms stable aggregates using genes similar to those involved in animal multicellular development. The discovery suggests that aggregation—previously dismissed as a pathway to complex multicellularity—may have been crucial in the evolution of animals from unicellular ancestors. This finding reshapes understanding of how the genetic toolkit for animal multicellularity originated.
Ancient Ground Squirrels Consumed Megafauna Carcasses, DNA Study Reveals
A study of 700,000-year-old fossilized ground squirrel feces from Canada's Yukon territory reveals that ancient ground squirrels ate diverse diets including plants, insects, and carcasses of woolly mammoths, bison, and big cats. The research analyzed DNA from coprolites found in burrows exposed by gold-mining operations in the Klondike region. The findings provide new insights into Pleistocene ecosystems and document some of North America's oldest mammoth DNA.
Scientists Sequence Sloth Genome, Revealing Genetic Basis for Slow Metabolism
Researchers have sequenced and analyzed the two-toed sloth genome for the first time, identifying genetic factors that explain the animal's extremely slow metabolism. Sloths are the slowest mammals on Earth, and their dense jungle habitat has historically made them difficult to study scientifically. Understanding sloth genetics provides insight into how metabolism evolved in response to environmental pressures and resource availability.
NASA Announces Artemis III Crew for 2027 Orbital Test Mission
NASA announced the four-person crew for the Artemis III mission scheduled for 2027, including commander Randy Bresnik, pilot Luca Parmitano (ESA), and mission specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio. Artemis III will conduct critical tests in low Earth orbit, including rendezvous and docking operations with commercial lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin. The mission is essential preparation for Artemis IV, which aims to land astronauts at the lunar South Pole in 2028.