Latest Science News
ISS National Lab Reports Record 76 Peer-Reviewed Studies in 2025
The ISS National Lab marked a record year with 76 peer-reviewed studies published in fiscal year 2025, totaling nearly 630, advancing cancer therapies, macular degeneration treatments, and brain organoids. Key outcomes include FDA-approved injectable cancer therapy from Merck's microgravity research and MicroQuin's cancer cell targeting molecule.
Additional milestones involve in-space refueling by Orbit Fab and cosmic-ray lithium origin revisions.
AI Labmates Achieve Fourfold Improvement in LED Light Control
Sandia physicists used AI to enhance LED light steering fourfold in just five hours, potentially replacing lasers in scanners and self-driving cars. The AI system, combining active learning and equation discovery, revealed novel nanoscale light-material interactions.
This self-driving lab approach advances AI as a scientific collaborator.
2026 Ushers in AI as Everyday Scientific Collaborator
AI is transforming science in 2026 by accelerating workflows from literature review to experiments, akin to its 2025 software impact. Demonstrations include solving black hole event horizon symmetries in 18 minutes.
This shift promises sustained progress acceleration across disciplines.
Quantum-Centric Supercomputing Wins Best Paper for Materials Science
Los Alamos researchers contributed to a top 2025 paper on quantum computers accelerating materials discovery, easing supercomputing burdens. The work shapes ongoing quantum algorithms for design and characterization.
It underscores Los Alamos' role in DOE's Quantum Science Center.
Juno Detects Io's Largest Eruption Suggesting Sponge-Like Interior
NASA's Juno observed Io's most intense eruption in December 2024, spanning 65,000 sq km and releasing 140-260 terawatts, over 1,000 times normal. The event lit multiple hotspots, indicating interconnected magma chambers like sponge pores.
Published in JGR Planets.
Deep Learning Predicts Earthquake Magnitude from First Seconds
A model trained on 2,100 quakes predicts final size using just the first five seconds of data with 80% accuracy. This covers the initial 20% of rupture, aiding early warning systems.
From JGR Machine Learning and Computation.
Blood Test Biomarkers Detect Parkinson's Years Early
Chalmers University identified gene activity patterns in blood for DNA repair and stress response, detectable only in early Parkinson's. This narrow window enables earlier diagnosis and drug repurposing.
Clinical blood tests could trial within five years.
Barley Mystery Solved: Desynaptic8 Mutant Traced to DNA Repair Gene
James Hutton Institute researchers identified HvXRCC2 damage causing improper chromosome separation in desynaptic8 barley, reducing seeds. Discovered using modern genetics on a 1970s mutant.
Published in Journal of Experimental Botany.
Massive Dark Matter Clump Detected Near Milky Way via Pulsars
Pulsar timing from 19 objects reveals a 10 million solar mass dark matter clump near the Sun, with no visible stars or gas explaining it. Evidence from pulse rate shifts in Physical Review Letters.
This galactic-scale nugget may lurk close by.
Cosmic-Ray Data Revises Lithium Origins from Big Bang Theories
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer measurements show some lithium in cosmic rays forms via interstellar collisions, not solely Big Bang. This refines cosmic-ray production models.
Part of ISS Lab's record research output.
Brain Organoids Assemble Faster and Uniformly in Microgravity
Axonis Therapeutics found ISS-grown brain organoids self-assemble in days versus months on Earth, aiding gene therapy tests for neurological diseases. This uniformity speeds research.
Reported in ISS National Lab's 2025 highlights.