Sciences

universetoday.comDead Planets Orbiting a Dead StarWhen a star like our Sun reaches its end, it becomes a kind of zombie star called a white dwarf. These bodies have left fusion behind and will radiate only remnant heat for a long, long time. Before they become white dwarfs, they expand, engulf, and destroy any nearby planets. Astronomers have spotted a debris disk around a white dwarf, made from the dust of destroyed planets. Observations show that two new resurrected planets have formed in this disk, creating dead planets orbiting a dead star.

Dead Planets Orbiting a Dead Star

scientificamerican.comAstronomers may have just discovered our solar system’s sixth dwarf planetLocated farther away from Earth than Pluto, the object was hidden in the light of the Milky Way’s stars

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory may have just discovered our solar system’s sixth dwarf planet

reves-d-espace.comAprès sept ans de fuites, la Russie condamne définitivement le sas PrK de l’ISSDepuis 2019, une zone du segment russe de la Station Spatiale Internationale fuit. Malgré des tentatives de réparation, les microfissures du sas PrK du module Zvezda de l’ISS persistent et so…

Après sept ans de fuites, la Russie condamne définitivement le sas PrK de l’ISS

nasa.govNASA Invites Media to Crew Completion of Yearlong Mars Simulation - NASAThe four volunteers who lived and worked in a simulated NASA Mars mission for more than a year will exit their habitat on Saturday, Oct. 31, after 378 days of

NASA Invites Media to Crew Completion of Yearlong Mars Simulation

universetoday.comMassive Stellar Collisions Could Explain Early Supermassive Black HolesDense stellar environments were common in the early Universe. These environments fostered more numerous stellar collisions, and some of those would've been mergers that formed very massive stars. Those stars would've exploded as supernovae, becoming massive black holes, the potential seeds for today's supermassive black holes.

Massive Stellar Collisions Could Explain Early Supermassive Black Holes

theconversation.comEarwax is both slippery and sticky – this weird combo might lead to safer insect repellentsEarwax’s unusual physical properties help it repel insects in the lab. Is this a job it evolved to do in animal ears?

Earwax is both slippery and sticky – this weird combo might lead to safer insect repellents

scientificamerican.comOpenAI just scooped mathematicians’ work on another million-dollar problemAnother bombshell result shows how artificial intelligence is fueling fierce competition at the frontiers of math and physics

OpenAI just scooped human researchers on a million-dollar quantum math problem

nasa.govNASA's Neo Surveyor Sunshade - NASAThe large sunshade of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Surveyor mission is inspected by a technician at BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems in Boulder, Colorado, in late July.

NASA's Neo Surveyor Sunshade

scientificamerican.comHow a 16th century pirate accidentally spawned a centuries-old math problemA question posed by Sir Walter Raleigh about cannonballs inadvertently led to a puzzle that mathematicians have been trying to solve for centuries

How a 16th century pirate accidentally spawned a centuries-old math problem

scientificamerican.comTrump-appointed CDC deputy director resigns after just four months in the roleJennifer Shuford, a well-respected infectious disease researcher, cited a desire to spend more time with her family

CDC deputy director Jennifer Shuford resigns after just four months in the role

universetoday.comThis Oddbal Reflective Lava World is Challenging to UnderstandExoplanets extremely close to their stars are expected to have lost their atmospheres. But one of them, TOI-561 b, seems to have a thick atmosphere. Understanding how this super-Earth has an atmosphere is challenging.

This Oddbal Reflective Lava World is Challenging to Understand

quebecscience.qc.caL’ancêtre commun à toutes les chauves-souris - Québec ScienceLes scientifiques en savent désormais davantage sur l’arbre généalogique des chauves-souris : ils auraient découvert l’ancêtre des chauves-souris qui vivait il y a plus de 65 millions d’années.

L’ancêtre commun à toutes les chauves-souris

youtube.com - YouTubeEnjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

How I Survived Late-Stage Cancer (A Fun Story)

scientificamerican.comDueling proofs from OpenAI and Anthropic astound scientistsThe results resolve major problems in math, physics and computer science. But like other recent AI-generated “slop drops,” the release is already controversial

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Dueling proofs from OpenAI and Anthropic astound scientists

scientificamerican.comSleep and depression may be more intertwined than we thoughtDepression tied to the body’s sleep cycle could be less responsive to antidepressants and cause more severe symptoms

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Sleep and depression may be more intertwined than we thought

esa.intFirst light: Hera resolves two asteroids instead of oneThe European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft for planetary defence has resolved its two target asteroids separately for the very first time, revealing the binary nature of the Didymos system, currently some 197 million km away from Earth.

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First light: Hera resolves two asteroids instead of one

universetoday.comHubble Will Give the Roman Space Telescope a Helping HandThe Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will use gravitational microlensing to study dark matter. But it's a wide-field survey telescope, and the venerable Hubble Space Telescope can do things it can't do. That's why the Hubble is lending a hand.

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Hubble Will Give the Roman Space Telescope a Helping Hand

universetoday.comA Deep-Mantle Garnet Might Hold the Secret to Ancient Martian MagmaA history of a planet’s volcanic activity is contained in its rocks. And Mars’ rocks - or at least many of the meteorites that have made the journey from it to Earth - were telling a contradictory story. They appeared to be highly oxidized, but our understanding of the internal volcanic forces on Mars meant that they should have been formed in a reducing environment - the exact opposite of what the chemical makeup of the rocks themselves indicate. Now, a new paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth from planetary scientists Hideharu Kuwahara and Ryoichi Nakada of Ehime University provides an answer as to why - and it involves a gemstone.

A Deep-Mantle Garnet Might Hold the Secret to Ancient Martian Magma

theconversation.comWe studied 1,584 data centers – and found the buildings full of machines are tied to modest local job growthThis employment boost took three to five years to show up, two researchers found after studying more than two decades of data.

We studied 1,584 data centers – and found the buildings full of machines are tied to modest local job growth

theconversation.comHow should AI be regulated? Follow the harmInstead of trying to restrict AI technologies, regulations could focus on the harm the technology causes people and companies.

How should AI be regulated? Follow the harm

theconversation.comViruses obey the laws of physics – studying how can help researchers understand why they infect people differently and lead to better treatmentsMechanobiology can help identify how the physical forces within cells affect how well viruses can invade them.

Viruses obey the laws of physics – studying how can help researchers understand why they infect people differently and lead to better treatments

pourlascience.frDes supraconducteurs aux bulles de savon, la matière condensée fait le point à ToulousePendant une semaine, du 26 au 30 octobre, 800 scientifiques présentent leurs travaux de recherche lors d’une grande conférence à l’université Paul-Sabatier, à Toulouse. Un instantané de la recherche française dans un domaine qui s’étend des matériaux de l’électronique aux mousses et aux tissus vivants.

Des supraconducteurs aux bulles de savon, la matière condensée fait le point à Toulouse

scientificamerican.comUnderwater data centers may be coming to the U.S.—smack in the middle of endangered whale habitatOcean water could help dissipate the heat from data centers, but the infrastructure could threaten endangered whales

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Underwater data centers may be coming to the U.S.—smack in the middle of endangered whale habitat

scientificamerican.comWhy we’ll never have another Black DeathThe death of a worker at a Russian plague lab was alarming, but the disease is extremely unlikely to become a worldwide problem as it has in the past

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Why we’ll never have another Black Death

esa.intESA procures four new Galileo Second Generation satellitesThe European Space Agency (ESA) has extended ongoing contracts to build four additional Galileo Second Generation (G2) satellites, ensuring the long-term continuity of the constellation and supporting the rollout of new services. With this procurement, the Galileo Second Generation fleet grows to 16 satellites.

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ESA procures four new Galileo Second Generation satellites

nasa.govHow a Johnson Mentor Shapes the Next Generation of NASA Talent - NASAWhen Rice University student Malvika Bhardwaj asked her mentor Daniel Cohen, a Guidance, Navigation & Control (GN&C) engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space

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How a Johnson Mentor Shapes the Next Generation of NASA Talent

pourlascience.frCinéma, art, science… pourquoi le cachalot est partoutDu grand écran aux musées, des livres aux laboratoires, le cachalot multiplie les apparitions. Une étonnante omniprésence qui témoigne aussi du regard nouveau que nous portons sur ce géant des mers.

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Cinéma, art, science… pourquoi le cachalot est partout

pourlascience.frDes organoïdes cérébraux cultivés pendant cinq ans reproduisent le développement du cerveau humainDes chercheurs ont maintenu actifs pendant cinq ans des modèles qui reproduisent certaines structures du cerveau humains. Leur maturation reproduit plusieurs étapes du développement du cerveau, du stade fœtal aux premières années après la naissance.

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Des organoïdes cérébraux cultivés pendant cinq ans reproduisent le développement du cerveau humain

science.nasa.govAPOD: 2026 October 27 - Noctilucent Clouds over Sweden - NASA ScienceAPOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 27 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Noctilucent Clouds over Sweden Explanation: Sometimes it’s night on the ground but day in the air. As the Earth rotates to eclipse the Sun, sunset rises up from the ground. Therefore, at sunset on the ground, sunlight still shines on clouds above. Under usual circumstances , a pretty sunset might be visible, but unusual noctilucent clouds float so high up they can be seen well after dark. Normally too dim to be seen, they may become visible just after sunset during the summer when illuminated by sunlight from below the horizon. Noctilucent cloud s are the highest clouds and are known more technically as polar mesospheric clouds . Featured here as they appeared in early August, a network of blue noctilucent clouds was captured in the distant sky above a field of green grass near Linköping , Sweden , with trees in stark silhouette across the horizon. Much about noctilucent clouds has been discovered only in the past two decades, while how they form and evolve remains a topic of active research . Tomorrow’s picture: round and round Date October 27, 2026 Credit & Copyright V. Höfer , D. Večerník & B. Večerníková Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC , NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. Random APOD Generator Yesterday’s Image APOD: 2026 October 26 – M42: The Great Nebula in Orion Tomorrow’s Image

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APOD: 2026 October 27 – Noctilucent Clouds over Sweden

science.nasa.govA-81 Reaches South Georgia - NASA ScienceThe Antarctic iceberg made a relatively quick exit from the Weddell Sea, only to slow at the edge of a remote island’s underwater shelf.

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A-81 Reaches South Georgia

universetoday.comAsymmetric space waves map pressure on Earth's magnetic shieldThe Earth’s magnetic field is responsible for shielding us from harmful space weather, including solar radiation from the Sun but also cosmic rays originating from outside our solar system. Cosmic rays can include deep space supernovas, so the magnetic field takes the majority of the brunt from solar radiation. Without our magnetic field, the solar wind would slowly strip away our atmosphere, making life on our small, blue world impossible to exist. But where is the magnetic field doing the heaviest lifting regarding how it filters out incoming space radiation?

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Asymmetric space waves map pressure on Earth's magnetic shield

science.nasa.govNASA’s Perseverance Views Dust at Neretva Vallis - NASA ScienceThis 360-degree look at Neretva Vallis within Mars’ Jezero Crater was stitched together using 217 images acquired by the rover’s Mastcam-Z

NASA’s Perseverance Views Dust at Neretva Vallis

universetoday.comA Brief-ish History of METI. Part I: Early Ideas and ExperimentsFor as long as scientists have conducted SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) experiments, parallel efforts in Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) have also been mounted. In this series, we'll take a look at the major milestones in this field of study.

A Brief-ish History of METI. Part I: Early Ideas and Experiments

science.nasa.govTinga’s Tale - NASA ScienceWritten by Margaret Deahn, Ph.D. candidate at Purdue University

Tinga’s Tale

nasa.govNASA’s Perseverance Offers Clues to Protect Crews From Mars Dust - NASAOver 1,645 Martian days, NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover measured the fine and ultrafine Martian dust particles found clinging to samples of spacesuit

NASA’s Perseverance Offers Clues to Protect Crews From Mars Dust

science.nasa.govNASA SEES Interns Tackle Real-World Challenges in Lunar Exploration - NASA ScienceThe NASA STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) Internship Program at the University of Texas Center for

NASA SEES Interns Tackle Real-World Challenges in Lunar Exploration

universetoday.comA Huge and Powerful New Simulation Helps Explain the Universe's ReionizationCosmologists have another powerful simulation to work with. Lumina is the one of the largest and most detailed cosmological simulations yet and runs on the Frontier supercomputer. It's larger and more detailed than Illustris TNG.

A Huge and Powerful New Simulation Helps Explain the Universe's Reionization

universetoday.comScientists Can Now Spot Hidden Sunspots on the Solar Far SideUnlike the Moon, the Sun is constantly rotating from our perspective - but we still only see half of it at any given time. Since it takes 27 days to complete a full rotation, that leaves plenty of time for changes to happen to the side we can’t see that could directly impact Earth’s own space weather a few weeks later. Now a team of physicists led by Bibhuti Kumar Jha of the Southwest Research Institute has published a paper in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series that uses probability to map out what might be happening on the far side of the Sun, even if we can’t see it directly.

Scientists Can Now Spot Hidden Sunspots on the Solar Far Side

scientificamerican.comAnthropic warns the risk of AI-created weapons could slow the frontier lab downAnthropic is preparing to go public, and new documents show how the lab hopes to control its technology while also pushing the limits of what AI can do

Anthropic's S-1 filing spotlights safety fears and science ambitions ahead of IPO

nasa.govNASA Invites Media to Moon Landing Simulation Experience in California - NASAMembers of the media are invited to tour a new lunar landing simulator at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley on Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30.

NASA Invites Media to Moon Landing Simulation Experience in California

universetoday.comParker Solar Probe Spots Twisted Magnetic Braids Growing in the Solar WindThe magnetic environment around the Sun is a jumbled mess of chaotic fields and streams of charged particles. Recently we’ve been getting at least slightly better at mapping out its complexity, thanks in large part to data collected by missions like the Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter. But there’s still a large grey area surrounding the interface between the large scale hydrodynamic properties of plasmas and the microscopic properties of individual ions, and scientists believe understanding large scale features of the Sun, such as why its corona is so much hotter than its surface, may rely on our knowledge of that interface. A new paper that directly tackles some of the outstanding questions about that interface was recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters by Masatomi Iizawa of the Technical University of Braunschweig and his co-authors.

Parker Solar Probe Spots Twisted Magnetic Braids Growing in the Solar Wind

universetoday.comA Merger Solves a Puzzling Paradox in OrionSome of the Hubble Space Telescope's earliest observations were of the Orion Nebula. Those images showed proplyds, and subsequent observations uncovered a paradox centered on them. Given their rate of mass loss, those disks should have been destroyed long ago. Why weren't they?

A Merger Solves a Puzzling Paradox in Orion

nasa.govNASA's X-59 Aircraft and Test Pilot - NASANASA test pilot Mike Lippert poses for a photo ahead of his first time flying the agency's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft on Oct. 21, 2026.

NASA's X-59 Aircraft and Test Pilot

nasa.govNASA's X-59 Aircraft and Test Pilot - NASANASA test pilot Mike Lippert poses for a photo ahead of his first time flying the agency's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft on Oct. 21, 2026. The X-59

NASA’s X-59 Aircraft and Test Pilot

scientificamerican.comHow birds can quietly spread a severe form of pneumoniaEveryday activities, from visiting zoos to cleaning bird droppings, can expose you to a potentially dangerous infection

How birds can quietly spread a severe form of pneumonia

nasa.govNASA, USDA Sign Agreement Advancing Earth Science, Agriculture - NASANASA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding expanding cooperation in Earth observation, geospatial analytics,

NASA, USDA Sign Agreement Advancing Earth Science, Agriculture

lejournal.cnrs.frL’avènement de la robotique chirurgicaleLa France a joué un grand rôle dans l’essor de la robotique médicale. La roboticienne Jocelyne Troccaz, forte de ses 35 ans de recherche dans le domaine, en détaille les enjeux.

L’avènement de la robotique chirurgicale

scientificamerican.comSnakes that cartwheel, vultures that groan, a mysterious moon, and more in this week’s science roundupThis week in science we check out gymnastic snakes, chatty vultures and missions to faraway moons

Snakes that cartwheel, vultures that groan, a mysterious Martian moon, and more

pourlascience.frAstéroïde Bennu : ce que les échantillons révèlent sur les origines du Système solaireLa sonde spatiale Osiris-Rex, de la Nasa, a rapporté sur Terre des échantillons de l’astéroïde Bennu. Leur analyse apporte de précieuses informations sur la formation du Système solaire, sur la chimie prébiotique et même sur nos stratégies de défense planétaire.

Astéroïde Bennu : ce que les échantillons révèlent sur les origines du Système solaire