Scientists have solved a biological mystery that remained unanswered for more than three decades, uncovering an unexpected way the immune system protects the body from its own inflammatory response. … [+15146 chars]

Scientists have solved a decades-old mystery and uncovered a hidden immune system defense that protects healthy cells from the very inflammation meant to fight infections. The surprising discovery could lead to new approaches for treating cancer, inflammatory…

Science Daily

Scientists solve 30-year-old mystery and discover a hidden defense against inflammation - Science Daily

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The view from inside a detector building block, with the yellow buoy of a nearby detection unit… [+5739 chars]

A half-built neutrino telescope on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea searched for cracks in one of physics' most basic invariances. It came up empty, but it...

Live Science

Physicists sank a telescope 1.5 miles under the sea to put Einstein's relativity to the test - Yahoo

Even in the 21st century, wildlife mysteries abound, especially in the deep oceans. One exciting recent example was the discovery of what became known as the 'golden orb'. Found on a deep-sea explora… [+4226 chars]

The golden orb story begins with a routine operation carried out by the US Government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Discoverwildlife.com

Deep-sea robot discovers mysterious golden orb 3,200m deep in the ocean – and scientists were stunned by what it really was - BBC Wildlife Magazine

Swift had a pretty good 22-year run, but NASA wanted the scope to keep going even longer.

Space.com

NASA's Swift space telescope crashes back to Earth after failed rescue attempt - Space

The island of Cyprus began to form some 90 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous, with molten rock pouring from the seafloor, solidifying, and building new oceanic crust. Over time, portions o… [+4986 chars]

The third-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea exposes an ancient piece of the ocean floor and hosts a clowder of cats.

NASA

Cyprus: Island of Snakes, Cats, and Ophiolites - NASA Science (.gov)

New evidence from gas seeping above volcanic rifts suggests Mars is not geologically dead deep inside, but merely sleeping. Fresh fissures along the Alba Mons region hint at active spots under the su… [+5807 chars]

New evidence from gas seeping above volcanic rifts suggests Mars is not geologically dead deep inside, but merely sleeping. Fresh fissures along the Alba Mons region hint at active spots under the surface, where gases from inside the planet may be making thei…

Phys.Org

European orbiter detects fresh hints of volcanic activity on Mars - Phys.org

Mice
All mouse husbandry and experiments were conducted using protocols approved by local animal ethics committees and authorities (Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid CA… [+22091 chars]

Longitudinal tracking of endothelial cells shows they can adapt to loss of VEGFR2&nbsp;and form new functional&nbsp;vessels, challenging conventional views of the&nbsp;essential role of VEGF receptors in angiogenesis and providing insight into resistance to a…

Nature.com

Venousization enables angiogenesis in the absence of VEGFR signalling - Nature

Water is crucial for life to flourish, which is why it's something scientists search for first on other planets but can we really be sure what water looks like in alien environments?
In a new study … [+3921 chars]

Water is crucial for life to flourish, which is why it's something scientists search for first on other planets – but can we really be sure what water looks like in alien environments? In a new study published in Communications Chemistry, researchers in the U…

ScienceAlert

Scientists Crushed Water Between Two Diamonds And Saw Something Never Observed in a Lab Before. - ScienceAlert

Sample acquisition and preparation
Samples originated from male 8-week-old Sprague Dawley rats kept in controlled conditions (1212-h lightdark cycles, 22°C and ad libitum access to food and water) a… [+35904 chars]

The X-ray visualization platform TomoSAXS, demonstrated here on intervertebral spinal discs, can visualize nanoscale to macroscale mechanics in&nbsp;intact biological organs and fibrous materials.

Multimodal X-ray imaging reveals hierarchical fibre mechanics - Nature

Fly stocks and husbandry
Flies were housed at 25°C and 5065% relative humidity on a 12h light/12h dark cycle, except for animals used in optogenetics experiments, which were reared in darkness. Stoc… [+25991 chars]

In Drosophila erecta, food odours initiate male sexual arousal, which is subsequently reinforced by the visual motion of other courting flies, creating a multisensory mechanism that synchronizes courtship in groups when conditions are favourable for reproduct…

Ecological and social cues orchestrate concerted courtship in Drosophila - Nature

State Key Laboratory of Fluorine and Nitrogen Chemistry and Advanced Materials, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shangh… [+112 chars]

Nature - Carbon radical generation by irreversible metal-to-ligand charge transfer

Carbon radical generation by irreversible metal-to-ligand charge transfer - Nature

Night owls have the chance to spot a few dazzling fireballs as the Southern Taurid meteor shower hitspeak activity.
Southern Taurid meteors strike Earths atmosphere at about 65,000 miles per hour (1… [+3711 chars]

The annual Southern Taurid meteor shower will peak Thursday, bringing bright trails and a chance to see a blazing fireball.

The Southern Taurid meteor shower will bring rare fireballs tonight - CNN

Many a person has referred to their cat as their own little fur baby. Research out today hints that for some felines, that comparison is even more apt than we knew.
Scientists in Japan surveyed hund… [+4110 chars]

Scientists sorted cats into four personality types, including one that shows the same mix of shyness and curiosity around strangers as human babies.

Gizmodo.com

Some Cats Are Shy Like Human Babies, Study Finds - Gizmodo

A dung beetle (unidentified species) in Zimbabwes Zambezi National Park shot by Oscar Whitfield, who won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Photo naturalist Tony Wu spent three… [+1023 chars]

The month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.

See a tardigrade shed its skin — October’s best science images - Nature

Credit: ZME Science.
Someone or something struck a Neanderthal in the face with such force that a front tooth split down the middle. The blow knocked neighboring teeth out of alignment and probably … [+7703 chars]

A 75,000-year-old Neanderthal skeleton reveals a haunting story of possible murder, compassion, and burial.

ZME Science

A Neanderthal Was Killed by a Wooden Spear 75,000 Years Ago in What Could Be a Prehistoric First - ZME Science

Bacterial strains
Mtb strains (unless specified otherwise) are derivatives of H37Rv. Clinical strains were acquired from the BCCM/ITM reference set of clinical strains38 and are referred to by their… [+68344 chars]

A high-throughput CRISPR-interference platform allows the mapping of interactions between essential genes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, revealing many previously unknown genetic interactions and providing insight into&nbsp;gene function and drug–target relat…

Comprehensive mapping of essential-gene interactions in M. tuberculosis - Nature

For people who have near-death experiences (NDEs), these encounters can be so deeply moving and life-changing that language seems inadequate. Many describe them as vivid, multisensory experiences, fi… [+5226 chars]

For people who have near-death experiences (NDEs), these encounters can be so deeply moving and life-changing that language seems inadequate. Many describe them as vivid, multisensory experiences, filled with mental imagery of colors, places and people.

Medical Xpress

Drawings of near-death experiences reveal patterns in what people remember seeing - Medical Xpress

Earth has a new moon, but don’t get too attached. Our planets gravity pulled a small space rock into a temporary orbit. Although the object won’t stick around for long, its brief visit offers astrono… [+3027 chars]

First mistaken for space junk, 2026 QQ8 has turned out to be a temporary companion to Earth.

Earth Has a Temporary New Mini-Moon - Gizmodo

Materials
The ingot of CoCrNiFeMn high-entropy alloy was prepared by vacuum arc melting a mixture of pure elements with purity greater than 99.95wt.% under an argon atmosphere after a vacuum of 3.3P… [+18407 chars]

Using deuterium as a proxy for hydrogen, atom probe tomography provides experimental evidence for interstitial hydrogen in solid solution across different FCC phases, consistent with theoretical predictions of hydrogen affinity, revealing hydrogen partitionin…

Towards observing interstitial hydrogen in solution in metal lattices - Nature

So far, observations by instruments including the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed the presence of surprisingly massive black holes in the early universe. Even less than a billion years after… [+4424 chars]

So far, observations by instruments including the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed the presence of surprisingly massive black holes in the early universe. Even less than a billion years after the Big Bang, some of these bodies already weighed billions…