Researchers are applying evolutionary theory to cancer by changing treatments before tumors have time to develop resistance。 Mathematical models suggest that rapid, carefully timed switches between multiple therapies could improve cure rates
Scientists have created a programmable optical chip that can slow light on demand, giving engineers far greater control over how optical signals propagate through a circuit。 The technology could provide the delays, synchronization, and buffering functions needed to make light-based computing more practical。 A single chip could eventually perform se
A newly discovered turning point in the Sun’s 11-year cycle could allow scientists to predict future solar activity years earlier than before。 At this “switch-off” point, the most violent space weather abruptly ends, and the remaining number of sunspots offers clues about the next cycle’s strength。 Early projections suggest Solar Cycle 26 may be mo
NASA astronaut Chris Williams and two Roscosmos cosmonauts are back on Earth after spending 241 days aboard the International Space Station。 Their journey covered more than 102 million miles and included 3,856 trips around the planet
NASA’s Swift Observatory observed a supermassive black hole ripping apart a star more than 30,000 light-years from the center of a distant galaxy。 The extraordinary flare briefly outshone its entire host galaxy in ultraviolet light and revealed a black hole about a million times the Sun’s mass
Dying Sun-like stars may not fade away quietly。 As blobs of gas erupt unevenly from their swollen surfaces, each burst gives the star a tiny push in the opposite direction。 Thousands of these random kicks could eventually break apart distant stellar pairs or, in rare cases, drive two stars into a violent collision
Scientists have created an “electron lighthouse” that uses laser light to launch and steer electrons through a semiconductor without an applied electrical field。 The quantum effect could eventually improve optical sensors, communications, imaging, and information storage
Astronomers have found the first confirmed atmosphere around a rocky planet in another star’s habitable zone。 The planet, LHS 1140 b, revealed its atmosphere through helium slowly leaking into space。 Located 48 light-years away, the world may have preserved its atmosphere for billions of years, making it a promising target in the search for potenti
A new particle detector called PLATON could replace millions of tiny detector components with a single block of light-producing material。 Using a light-field camera, highly sensitive photon sensors, and AI, it reconstructs particle paths in fast, detailed 3D。 Simulations suggest it could match or surpass today’s best detectors while being far easie
MIT engineers have found a way to give chip-based lidar a wider, clearer view without relying on moving parts。 Their design uses differently shaped antennas that can sit close together without scrambling one another’s signals。 In tests, the system sharply reduced interference while steering a single precise beam across a broad field of view
A catastrophic asteroid breakup may have triggered a huge wave of impacts across the inner solar system about 800 million years ago。 The debris was launched from near a gravitational gateway controlled by Jupiter, sending fragments toward Earth, the Moon, and Mars。 The bombardment may explain ancient lunar craters and could have contributed to majo
A distant Sun-like star appears to have devoured one of its planets, leaving behind a surprising chemical fingerprint。 Researchers found an unusually high concentration of lithium, a strong sign that planetary material was mixed into the star。 Careful comparisons with dozens of similar stars confirmed the signal is highly unusual, and scientists th
Europa’s hidden ocean has made the icy moon one of the solar system’s most promising places to search for habitable conditions。 Scientists have hoped that water from this deep ocean might rise through cracks and form shallow reservoirs that future spacecraft could more easily study。 New simulations suggest that journey is unlikely because turbulent
Researchers have created self-destructing living plastic that uses engineered bacteria to completely break itself down when activated。 The material degrades in just six days without creating microplastics, offering a potential new solution for single-use plastic waste
A new review highlights exciting progress in atomically thin quantum materials where light and magnetism work together in ways never before possible。 In these materials, light-generated excitons can interact directly with magnetic behavior, creating opportunities to control magnetic states using light alone。 Scientists believe this could pave the w