Science

Researchers warn that halting federal contracts for mRNA vaccine research could weaken pandemic preparedness and slow medical advances.

August 19, 2025 4 min read These Tiny Disks Will Sail on Sunlight into Earth’s Mysterious ‘Ignorosphere’ With no fuel or engines, tiny explorers will surf sun-warmed air alone to explore high in the skies of Earth and Mars By Payal Dhar edited by Lee Billings This artist’s impression shows multiple small devices soaring on…

Solar flares can be a threat to GPS and communications satellites NASA/SDO/AIA An artificial intelligence model trained on NASA satellite imagery can forecast what the sun will look like hours into the future – even predicting the appearance of solar flares that may warn of dangerous space weather for Earth. “I love to think of…

Nicole Spartano does not have diabetes. But the Boston University epidemiologist has occasionally worn a continuous glucose monitor, or CGM, a device once reserved for those with the condition. Her desire to understand how factors such as food, sleep and exercise influence her blood sugar levels stems from her own research into how CGMs might…

In 2014 Mura Yakerson, a college student at the time, decided to practice driving in a quiet area in the countryside near Saint Petersburg, Russia. Then something went wrong. While she was pulling out of a parking space, Yakerson accidentally damaged another car. This incident turned out to be the beginning of a nightmare. Because…

Buckwheat seems to be a key cause of severe food allergies Shutterstock/Buntovskikh Olga Around one in seven cases of life-threatening allergic reactions seem to be caused by foods not typically labelled as potential allergens on a product’s packaging, prompting researchers to argue policies around this need to change. Food allergies are becoming more common, but…

Science in meter and verse

Maintaining a good sense of smell has knock-on benefits, including on our sense of taste DeanDrobot/Getty Images Beaming powerful radio waves directly into a person’s head seems to improve their sense of smell – at least temporarily. Ageing, trauma and some neurological conditions can all affect the olfactory nerve, which enables smell, reducing or even eliminating…

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Origami “bloom” designs fold into flower-like shapes BYU Photo A new family of origami shapes that unfold like flower petals could be used to design more effective structures in space, like telescopes or solar panels. Origami structures, based on the Japanese paper-folding art, are used by engineers because they can be stored compactly but then…