Science

A new report identifies searching for life as the top science priority for humanity's first landing on Mars, ranking it above understanding water cycles, mapping geology, or even studying how the Martian environment affects astronaut health. The report outlines four possible exploration campaigns, with the highest ranked approach calling for missions totalling 330 sols at a single scientifically rich site where crews could investigate everything from ancient lava flows to active dust storms. By placing the search for extraterrestrial life at the centre of human Mars exploration, the report reimagines the first crewed mission not just as a milestone for spaceflight but as humanity's best chance to answer whether we're alone in the universe.

Yes, it’s that time of year again: time to send in photos of your Christmas cats (or, if you have a Jewish cat, a Hanukkah-themed photo). If I get twenty pictures, I’ll put them together for a Christmas Day/beginning of Koynezaa post.

The rules are simple:

a. Email me a photo of your moggy/moggies with a Christmas theme. If you don’t know where to send them, go here

b. One picture per customer, even if you have multiple cats.

c.  Give the name or names of the cats, and say a few words about them.

Have them to me by Dec. 23 or so.  Now’s the time to make your cat famous and show it off.

Thanks!

There are two small moons in orbit around Mars today, but both may be remnants of a much larger moon that had enough of a gravitational pull to drive tides in the Red Planet's lost lakes and seas

Let’s say you are transported back in time to some ancient culture. And along the way you somehow forget everything you knew about modern cosmology (don’t worry about the details, it’s just to get us going here, pretend if you have to that it’s a very strange and selective sort of amnesia introduced by the time traveling device).

The Hubble Tension is one of the great mysteries of cosmology. Solving it might require a fundamental change in how we understand the universe - but scientists have to prove it actually exists first. A new paper from a collective of cosmologist researchers known as the TDCOSMO Collaboration adds further fuel to that first with updated measurements of the “Late Universe” measurement of the Hubble Constant using gravitational lenses of quasars, which shows that the Tension might exist after all.

Scientists have managed to observe solar neutrinos carrying out a rare atomic transformation deep underground, converting carbon-13 into nitrogen-13 inside the SNO+ detector. By tracking two faint flashes of light separated by several minutes, researchers confirmed one of the lowest-energy neutrino interactions ever detected.

Scientists have managed to observe solar neutrinos carrying out a rare atomic transformation deep underground, converting carbon-13 into nitrogen-13 inside the SNO+ detector. By tracking two faint flashes of light separated by several minutes, researchers confirmed one of the lowest-energy neutrino interactions ever detected.

TRAPPIST-1e, an Earth-sized world in the system’s habitable zone, is drawing scientific attention as researchers hunt for signs of an atmosphere—and potentially life-supporting conditions. Early James Webb observations hint at methane, but the signals may instead come from the star itself, a small ultracool M dwarf whose atmospheric behavior complicates interpretation.

Via podcasts, Fox News interviews, and "leaked" memos, our FDA leaders are teasing "profound revelations" about dead children and hidden data, complete with dastardly villains and brave heroes, namely themselves. Stay tuned for more!

The post Dr. Marty Makary: Using Dead Children to Create a Spectacle of Accusations first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.

Controlling qubits with quantum superpositions allows them to dramatically violate a fundamental limit and encode information for about five times longer during quantum computations

What geological features on Earth can be used to better understand unique geological features on Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa? This is what a recent study published in The Planetary Science Journal hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated potential Earth analogs for studying a unique geological feature on Europa scientists identified almost 30 years ago. This study has the potential help scientists gain insights into Europa’s unique geological features, some of which scientists hypothesize are caused by the moon’s internal liquid water ocean.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the microbe responsible for gonorrhoea, is developing resistance to most antibiotics, which means we need new drugs to treat the condition. An antibiotic called zoliflodacin might be part of a solution

Surface-bound gels may have provided the structure and chemistry necessary for life to take root on Earth. These findings could also have implications in the search for life beyond Earth.

The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) is forming a new research group that will focus solely on the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. The pair of irregular dwarf galaxies are satellites of the Milky Way, and are natural, nearby laboratories for studying how galaxies form and evolve. The research group will make heavy use of the spectroscopic 4MOST survey from the VISTA telescope.

In a stunning reversal, Disney has changed tack with regard to safeguarding its copyrighted characters from incorporation into AI tools – perhaps a sign that no one can stem the tide of AI

White-sided dolphins seem to help killer whales "scout" and catch Chinook salmon near Vancouver Island, then eat the leftovers

It’s one of the better annual meteor showers, and 2025 is shaping up to give sky watchers a chance to see it at its best. If skies are clear this weekend, be sure to be vigilant for the Geminid meteors.

Scientists at the University of Geneva have successfully tested key components of RISTRETTO, a new spectrograph designed to analyse light from Proxima b, the nearest exoplanet to Earth. The instrument uses coronagraphic techniques and extreme adaptive optics to block a star's overwhelming glare and detect planets that shine 10 million times fainter. Simulations suggest RISTRETTO could not only spot Proxima b with just 55 hours of observation time but potentially identify oxygen or water in its atmosphere, offering our first chance to study the conditions on an Earth sized world orbiting our nearest stellar neighbour.

Astronomers have developed a new technique called "X-arithmetic" that reveals the hidden physics inside galaxy clusters. By analysing Chandra X-ray Observatory data at different energy levels and painting the results in vibrant colours, researchers can now distinguish between sound waves, black hole inflated bubbles, and cooling gas, enabling them to classify structures by what they are rather than how they look. The method has already exposed striking differences between galaxy clusters and galaxy groups, showing that supermassive black holes wield dramatically different influence on their surroundings.

There are already tens of thousands of pieces of large debris in orbit, some of which pose a threat to functional satellites. Various agencies and organizations have been developing novel solutions to this problem, before it turns into full-blown Kessler Syndrome. But many of them are reliant on understanding what is going on with the debris before attempting to deal with it. Gaining that understanding is hard, and failure to do so can cause satellites attempting to remove the debris to contribute to the problem rather than alleviating it. To help solve that conundrum, a new paper from researchers at GMV, a major player in the orbital tracking market in Europe, showcases a new algorithm that can use ground-based telescopes to try figure out how the debris is moving before a deorbiter gets anywhere near it.