March 04, 2026

Survey of 80 near Earth asteroids sharpens view of their origins and risks Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Mar 02, 2026 Near Earth asteroids are small bodies whose orbits cross or come close to Earth, making them key tracers of Solar System formation and evolution as well as potential impact hazards for our planet. ... more

Primordial magnetism offers fresh angle on the Hubble constant puzzle Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 02, 2026 A Simon Fraser University cosmologist reports that new theoretical work on primordial magnetic fields could move researchers closer to resolving the longstanding Hubble tension, the mismatch in meas ... more

Pressure driven leakage from marine snow feeds deep ocean microbes Paris, France (SPX) Mar 02, 2026 Sydney, Australia (SPX) Feb 10, 2026 For many years, scientists viewed the deep ocean as a nutrient poor realm where microbes in the water column scraped by on scarce resources. New research from t ... more

New analysis sharpens view of cosmic birefringence and universe symmetry Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 04, 2026 A research team has developed a method to reduce uncertainties in measurements of cosmic birefringence, a subtle rotation in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background that may hold clues t ... more

JWST study links sulfur rich gas giants to core growth in distant HR 8799 system Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 02, 2026 Gas giants are large planets composed mainly of hydrogen and helium with dense cores but no solid surfaces. Astronomers have long debated how the most massive of these worlds form and where the boun ... more

Cosmic dust chemistry forges peptide building blocks in deep space Berlin, Germany (SPX) Mar 03, 2026 New experiments show that key molecular building blocks for life can form spontaneously on icy dust grains in deep space long before planets emerge from collapsing gas clouds. In a laboratory ... more

Dark star theory links JWST early universe anomalies Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 03, 2026 A recent study led by Colgate Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Cosmin Ilie, with collaborators Jillian Paulin at the University of Pennsylvania, Andreea Petric of the Space Telescope Sci ... more

Debris disc oddities point to hidden outer planets Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 03, 2026 Astronomers have obtained some of the most detailed images yet of debris discs around fully formed, so called teenage planetary systems, and say the irregular structures they see could reveal the pr ... more

Einstein effect clears planets from tight double star systems Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 04, 2026 Of the more than 4,500 stars known to have planets, one puzzling statistic stands out. Even though nearly all stars are expected to have planets and most stars form in pairs, planets that orbit both ... more Engineered microbes use light to build new molecules Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 04, 2026 Researchers are developing new ways to reprogram the cellular machinery of microbes such as yeast and bacteria so they can manufacture useful products for medicine and industry. A team at the Carl R ... more Frozen hydrogen cyanide crystals may have helped spark early chemistry for life Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 04, 2026 Hydrogen cyanide is highly poisonous to humans, yet new work suggests it could have played a constructive role in the emergence of life on early Earth and in other cold environments in the solar sys ... more Hidden magma oceans could shield rocky exoplanets from harmful radiation Rochester NY (SPX) Mar 02, 2026 Deep beneath the surface of distant exoplanets known as super-earths, oceans of molten rock may be doing something extraordinary: powering magnetic fields strong enough to shield entire planets from ... more Hydrogen sulfide detected in distant gas giant exoplanets for the first time Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 02, 2026 Hydrogen sulfide is what makes rotten eggs stink. But the discovery of this gas in the atmospheres of four distant, Jupiter-like planets is turning heads for a pleasant reason: It solves the mystery ... more Icy cycles may have driven early protocell evolution Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Mar 02, 2026 Modern cells rely on intricate molecular machinery and genetic programs to grow and divide, but the earliest protocells were likely simple lipid-bound compartments whose behavior depended mainly on ... more Lab made cosmic dust experiment reveals paths to life chemistry Sydney, Australia (SPX) Mar 02, 2026 A PhD candidate at the University of Sydney has recreated a small slice of cosmic chemistry in the laboratory by manufacturing carbon rich dust under conditions that mimic space. Working in the Scho ... more Quark wakes reveal early universe plasma flowed like a liquid Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 04, 2026 In its first instants, the universe formed a searing quark gluon plasma in which quarks and gluons moved at near light speed before cooling to build the protons and neutrons that dominate matter tod ... more Star like early galaxies challenge views of cosmic evolution Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 04, 2026 Scientists at the University of Missouri have identified a small group of unusual objects in the early universe that look like stars in images yet behave like compact galaxies when analyzed in detai ... more Study revisits chances of detecting alien technosignatures Sydney, Australia (SPX) Mar 02, 2026 For more than sixty years, astronomers have searched the sky for signs of advanced extraterrestrial technology, scanning the Milky Way for artificial radio transmissions, optical flashes and excess ... more