ESA/Sophie Adenot Astronauts Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) and Jack Hathaway of NASA, both Expedition 74 flight engineers, look out a window in the cupola, monitoring the automated approach and docking of the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station on May 17, 2026. The orbital outpost was soaring 259 miles…
Scientists have uncovered a surprising connection between a baby’s earliest biological programming, the gut microbiome, and later brain development. The findings, published in Cell Press Blue, suggest that epigenetic changes present at birth can influence how gut bacteria develop during infancy. The study also found links between specific epigenetic patterns, certain gut microbes, and signs…
A mobile wastewater treatment system built at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida that can help prepare for long-duration missions on the Moon and Mars departed the spaceport and arrived at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. Graduate students at the university will test the technology under conditions designed to closely mimic the…
Researchers from Columbia University and University Hospital Tübingen have discovered a protein that appears to play a major role in weakening CAR T cells over time. By disabling the protein, known as NFIL3, the scientists found that these engineered immune cells remained active longer and were better able to attack tumors. The findings, published in…
June 2, 2026 3 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Questioning everything Where did stars, and light itself, come from? Is there a hidden sector of particles and forces called “dark energy” affecting the cosmos? By Josh Fischman “Most of the matter in our universe is invisible,” write Tracy R. Slatyer and Tim M….
Why do we decide to approach other people? According to new research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the answer may begin unfolding in the brain several seconds before any movement takes place. The study found that social behavior is preceded by a distinctive pattern of activity that spreads across the brain. Researchers also discovered…
Last month many mathematicians were shocked by OpenAI’s announcement that artificial intelligence had solved geometry’s famous “unit distance” problem. For some, the achievement was exciting. But researchers also worry that AI technology, if left unchecked, will change their field for the worse. To address those fears, a group of mathematicians, computer scientists, and math historians…
Astronomers have traced a mysterious type of repeating cosmic signal to an unusual pair of stars, providing the strongest evidence yet for the source of one of astronomy’s most puzzling phenomena. The discovery was made by an international research team led by scientists at the University of Sydney using CSIRO’s ASKAP radio telescope. Their findings…
Scott Wray’s experience with spacewalks started when he was about 6 years old. A tent resembling a lunar lander provided the perfect imaginary spacecraft. “I would lie on my back with my feet propped up on a pillow as I imagined going through a launch countdown sequence,” he said. “Then I would exit the tent…
On May 15, 2026, a fire was spotted from aircraft on the southeastern side of Santa Rosa Island, part of California’s Channel Islands National Park. The blaze spread over the next several days, ultimately burning 18,379 acres (7,438 hectares)—about one-third of the island. These images show the expansion of the fire’s burned area between May…
