Science News
Latest science news and updates
Total: 154
SpaceX’s Dragon Carries Multinational Crew to ISS in Another Boost for Commercial Spaceflight
SpaceX’s Dragon launched four astronauts from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station on February 13, beginning an eight‑month mission focused on experiments to support future Moon and Mars exploration. The flight highlights the maturation of commercial crew services and continued multinational cooperation aboard the ISS despite broader geopolitical tensions.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Delivers Four Astronauts to ISS for Eight-Month Science Push
SpaceX launched a Crew Dragon on 13 February from Florida, ferrying four astronauts to the International Space Station for an eight‑month mission centered on experiments that support lunar and Mars exploration, such as plant–bacteria research to improve food production. The flight highlights the growing role of commercial providers in sustaining human presence in low Earth orbit and testing technologies needed for deep‑space missions.
Activating a Brain Circuit Slashes Fat in Mice — A Promising But Distant Route to Treating Obesity
Researchers at Washington University found that activating a specific brain‑originating neural pathway rapidly reduced whole‑body fat in mice without dietary change, a result published in Nature Metabolism. The finding highlights a potential central mechanism for controlling adiposity, but major translational, safety and ethical hurdles remain before human therapies could emerge.
Behind Chang'e‑5’s Success: The Homegrown Technologies That Brought Lunar Soil Back to China
Chang'e‑5’s successful lunar sample return owed as much to specialised, domestically produced components as to mission planning. Radars, SAW filters, crystal oscillators, a microwave rendezvous radar and powered exoskeletons supplied by CASIC’s Second Academy were crucial to launch tracking, signal integrity, timing stability, orbital docking and capsule recovery.
Xi Orders a Strategic Upgrade to China’s Science Fund to Push for Original Breakthroughs and Tech Self‑Reliance
Xi Jinping has instructed China’s National Natural Science Foundation Commission to strengthen and strategically reorient funding for basic research, deepen grant reforms, and support original scientific breakthroughs to advance technological self‑reliance. The move elevates basic science as a national priority while foreshadowing more targeted funding, tougher incentives for originality and cautious expansion of international cooperation.
Musk’s New Bet: SpaceX Reorients Toward a Moon City — Ambitious Timeline, Big Questions
Elon Musk says SpaceX is prioritizing construction of a "self-expanding" lunar city, claiming it could be feasible within ten years because of faster launch cadence and shorter transit times to the Moon versus Mars. The announcement reflects a strategic shift toward nearer-term lunar activity, but meeting such a timetable would require major technical, regulatory and commercial breakthroughs.
China’s Team Builds World‑Leading Optical Clock, Pushing Timekeeping to 4.4×10⁻¹⁹ Precision
A Chinese Academy of Sciences team has developed a liquid‑nitrogen‑cooled calcium‑ion optical clock with a total systematic uncertainty of 4.4×10⁻19, claimed as the best reported so far. The result advances ultra‑precise timekeeping with implications for geodesy, navigation and a prospective redefinition of the second.
SpaceX Pivots from Mars to Moon, Aiming for Uncrewed Lunar Landing in March 2027
SpaceX has delayed a Mars mission slated for 2026 and told investors it will prioritise lunar operations tied to NASA, aiming for an uncrewed Moon landing in March 2027. The move recalibrates timelines, concentrates resources on an attainable near‑term goal and has implications for investors, U.S. space policy and international competition in cislunar space.
Natural Hydrogen Trapped in Tibetan Rocks Points to a New Low‑Carbon Energy Prospect for China
Chinese researchers have found natural hydrogen trapped in microscopic inclusions inside ophiolitic rocks on the Qinghai‑Tibet Plateau, the first such discovery in China. The finding signals a potential new, low‑carbon domestic hydrogen source but leaves open questions about scale, recoverability and environmental impact.
NOAA Issues Alert After X‑Class Solar Flare; Minor Geomagnetic Storms Expected
NOAA warned that an X4.2 solar flare on Feb. 4 produced a G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm on Feb. 5, with further G1 activity possible on Feb. 6 and 8. Impacts are expected to be modest — chiefly HF radio interference, potential satellite anomalies and high‑latitude auroras — but the episode underscores growing space‑weather risks as active solar regions face Earth.
Laser Pulses Flip Magnet Polarity, Opening Path to Tunable Optoelectronics
Swiss researchers reported in Nature that laser pulses can reverse the polarity of a specialised ferromagnet, demonstrating all‑optical control beyond ferrimagnetic materials. The finding points to faster, potentially lower‑energy ways to program magnetic states, with implications for memory, spintronics and reconfigurable optoelectronic circuits, though engineering challenges remain.
UCLA Physicists Find Direct Evidence of a ‘Liquid’ Charge Density Wave in a Classic Quantum Material
UCLA researchers report direct experimental evidence for a liquid-like charge density wave in 1T-TaS2, a result published in Nature Physics that appears to resolve a 30-year theoretical dispute. The observation expands the known landscape of electronic order in correlated materials and has potential implications for understanding and controlling emergent phenomena such as unconventional superconductivity.