SAR11 bacteria dominate the world’s oceans by being incredibly efficient, shedding genes to survive in nutrient-poor waters. But that extreme streamlining appears to backfire when conditions change. Under stress, many cells keep copying their DNA without dividing, creating abnormal cells that grow large and die. This vulnerability may explain why SAR11 populations drop during phytoplankton blooms and could become more important as oceans grow less stable. To understand how SAR11 responds to environmental stress, researchers examined hundreds of SAR11 genomes. They found that many strains lack genes normally responsible for regulating the cell cycle, the system that controls DNA replication and cell division. In most bacteria, these genes are essential for normal growth and survival. When environmental conditions shift, the absence of this regulation appears to create major problems. Scientists had already noticed that SAR11 populations are sensitive to changes in their surroundings. What stood out in this study was the unusual way the cells reacted under stress.

MACE is a next-generation experiment designed to catch muonium transforming into its antimatter twin, a process that would rewrite the rules of particle physics. The last search for this effect ended more than two decades ago, and MACE plans to leap far beyond it using cutting-edge beams, targets, and detectors. A discovery would point to entirely new forces or particles operating at extreme energy scales. Observing such a process would break a fundamental rule of particle physics called lepton flavor conservation, which is a key part of the Standard Model, and would provide direct evidence for physics beyond existing theories.

NASA’s Perseverance rover has just made history by driving across Mars using routes planned by artificial intelligence instead of human operators. A vision-capable AI analyzed the same images and terrain data normally used by rover planners, identified hazards like rocks and sand ripples, and charted a safe path across the Martian surface. After extensive testing in a virtual replica of the rover, Perseverance successfully followed the AI-generated routes, traveling hundreds of feet autonomously.

Axiom Space and Spacebilt plan to install an optically interconnected orbital data center node on the International Space Station in 2027.

Transcelestial, a startup developing optical communications technologies, has signed an agreement with Gilmour Space Technologies to incorporate its technology on Gilmour Space spacecraft. Transcelestial has developed space-to-ground optical communications terminals for spacecraft, such as this one for the 6GStarLab spacecraft.

Amazon has purchased an additional 10 Falcon 9 launches from SpaceX as part of its efforts to accelerate deployment of its broadband satellite constellation. The deal, which neither Amazon nor SpaceX previously announced, was disclosed in an Amazon filing with the Federal Communications Commission on Jan. 30 seeking an extension of a July deadline to deploy half of its Amazon Leo constellation. Under the FCC authorization granted in 2020, Amazon has until July 30, 2026, to launch half of its planned 3,232 satellites, with the remainder required to be deployed three years later. As of late January, six months before the first deadline, the company had launched only 180 spacecraft.

Singapore will launch its own space agency on April 1 as it bids to "fully harness the value and opportunities of the growing global space economy", the country's trade ministry announced on Monday. A general view of the Space Summit at Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore February 2, 2026. https://blossom.primal.net/697388e00ca07d90790086ded9bd57c62a314f915f31bd70c8ed03079b55e50f

The chemical is known as thiepine, or 2,5-cyclohexadiene-1-thione (C₆H₆S), a ring-shaped sulfur-bearing hydrocarbon produced in biochemical reactions. When examining the molecular cloud G+0.693–0.027, a star-forming region about 27,000 light-years from Earth near the center of the Milky Way, astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) and the CSIC-INTA Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) detected this complex molecule in space for the first time. This detection represents the largest sulfur-bearing molecule ever detected beyond Earth, with significant implications for the study of the cosmic origins of life.

A new light-based breakthrough could help quantum computers finally scale up. Stanford researchers created miniature optical cavities that efficiently collect light from individual atoms, allowing many qubits to be read at once. The team has already demonstrated working arrays with dozens and even hundreds of cavities. The approach could eventually support massive quantum networks with millions of qubits. In research published in Nature, the team describes a system made up of 40 optical cavities, each holding a single atom qubit, along with a larger prototype that contains more than 500 cavities. The results point to a realistic route toward building quantum computing networks that could one day include as many as a million qubits.

Hidden lava tunnels on the Moon and Mars could one day shelter human explorers, offering natural protection from radiation and space debris. A European research team has unveiled a bold new mission concept that uses three different robots working together to explore these extreme underground environments autonomously. Recently tested in the volcanic caves of Lanzarote, the system maps cave entrances, deploys sensors, lowers a scout rover, and creates detailed 3D maps of the interior.

When two neutron stars collide, they generate gravitational waves and light across the electromagnetic spectrum, from intense gamma ray flashes to faint radio signals that can persist for years. These multi-messenger events contain rich information about the physics of compact objects, their environments and the formation of heavy elements, but extracting that information efficiently has proved challenging. A collaboration led by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, working with Johns Hopkins University, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has developed a new AI-powered framework to tackle this problem. The system, called RADAR, for Radio Afterglow Detection and AI-driven Response, is designed to combine gravitational wave data with radio observations in a coordinated, resource-aware way. One of RADAR's distinctive features is its use of AI to read the human-generated messages that astronomers rely on to share results from telescopes around the globe. By automatically parsing these notices, the system can keep track of evolving observations and adjust follow-up plans dynamically.

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. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology has now shown that they can extend the biosynthetic capabilities of microbes by harnessing light to drive new types of chemical reactions inside cells. In work published in Nature Catalysis, the researchers demonstrate that the bacterium Escherichia coli can be engineered to produce new-to-nature molecules in vivo using light-driven enzymatic reactions. The study establishes a framework for future advances in the emerging field of photobiocatalysis, which combines light activation with enzyme catalysis to access transformations that are challenging or inaccessible with traditional chemistry or natural enzymes alone.

Of the more than 6,000 extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, confirmed to date - most of them found by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) - only 14 are observed to orbit binary stars. There should be hundreds. Where are all the planets with two suns? Astrophysicists at the University of California, Berkeley, and the American University of Beirut have now proposed a reason for this dearth of circumbinary exoplanets - and Einstein's general theory of relativity is to blame. In most binary star systems, the stars have similar but not identical masses and orbit one another in an egg-shaped or elliptical orbit. If a planet is orbiting the pair of stars, the gravitational tugs from the stars make the planet's orbit precess, meaning the orbital axis rotates similar to the way the axis of a spinning top rotates or precesses in Earth's gravity. The orbit of the binary stars also precesses, but mainly because of general relativity. Over time, tidal interactions between the binary pair shrink the orbit, which has two effects: The precession rate of the stars increases, but the precession rate of the planet slows. When the two precession rates match, or resonate, the planet's orbit becomes wildly elongated, taking it farther from the star but also nearer at its closest approach.

An international team led by researchers at the Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has completed a one year observing campaign to better classify these objects. From October 2023 to October 2024 they used the Johnson Cousins BVRI broadband photometric system on two facilities, the Purple Mountain Observatory Yaoan High Precision Telescope in China and the Kottamia Astronomical Observatory 1.88 meter telescope in Egypt, to observe dozens of near Earth asteroids. After calibration and data reduction, the team derived multicolor photometric indices for 84 near Earth asteroids and then carried out taxonomic classification for 80 of them. The new dataset significantly expands the number of small, faint objects with secure taxonomic types, which have been difficult to classify because they are only observable for short periods after discovery. The survey finds that nearly half of the classified objects, 46.3 percent, belong to the S complex, which is associated with stony, silicate rich compositions. Another 26.3 percent are in the darker, carbon rich C complex, 15.0 percent fall into the X complex, and 6 percent are in the D complex, with the remaining few identified as A type and V type asteroids. By examining the distribution of types with size, the researchers show that C and X complex asteroids are more common among smaller near Earth asteroids with absolute magnitude greater than 17.0. In this size range the fraction of C and X complex objects is roughly double that found among larger bodies, suggesting different source regions or evolutionary pathways for small near Earth asteroids. The team also notes that X complex objects tend to cluster at sub kilometer diameters, while C and S complex asteroids appear more evenly distributed across the sampled size range. These contrasting patterns point to differences in collisional evolution, surface processing, or delivery mechanisms from the main belt. Analysis of orbital parameters highlights further structure in the population. For near Earth asteroids with Jovian Tisserand parameter less than 3.1, C and D complex objects dominate, hinting at a possible link to cometary reservoirs. This dynamical signature, combined with their dark, primitive surfaces, supports the idea that some near Earth asteroids originated as extinct or dormant comets.

Bacteria that thrive on Earth may not survive easily on Mars, where the soil contains toxic perchlorate salts at levels that can reach about 1 percent by weight. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science have now shown how a brick building soil bacterium responds to this chemical and discovered that although the toxin slows growth and stresses the cells, it can also yield stronger biocemented Martian bricks. The work builds on earlier studies in which the team used the soil bacterium Sporosarcina pasteurii to turn synthetic Martian or lunar soil into solid "space bricks." When the microbe is supplied with urea and calcium in a granular simulant along with the natural polymer guar gum, it precipitates calcium carbonate crystals that bind soil grains together, a process known as biocementation. In contrast to previous experiments that relied on a standard laboratory strain, the new study used a more robust, native strain of S. pasteurii that the researchers had isolated from soils in Bengaluru. After confirming that the Bengaluru strain could efficiently generate mineral precipitates in the simulant, the team introduced perchlorate at concentrations similar to those detected in Martian regolith. In collaboration with scientists at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata, they observed that the chemical stressed the bacteria: cells divided more slowly, shifted from rod like to more circular shapes, and began to clump into multicellular like aggregates. Stressed cells also secreted greater amounts of extracellular matrix, a mixture of proteins and other molecules that formed a coating around the microbe clusters.

NASA is preparing for a new phase in hypersonic aviation by funding industry studies aimed at expanding flight test capabilities for reusable airbreathing vehicles that can cruise at several times the speed of sound. The agency has awarded short term study contracts to SpaceWorks Enterprises of Atlanta, Georgia, and Stratolaunch of Mojave, California, to examine how existing platforms could be adapted to conduct frequent and affordable hypersonic flight experiments. The work is managed under NASA's Hypersonic Technology Project within the Advanced Air Vehicles Program. The X 60 is a small rocket based flight research platform designed to be launched from an aircraft and reach relevant flight regimes for high speed experimentation. In the new study, SpaceWorks will examine how that platform could support reusable, high cadence test operations that would be useful to both NASA and commercial partners interested in hypersonic technologies.

CesiumAstro is highlighting the Element LEO satellite platform, a purpose-built spacecraft architecture designed to support advanced communications, networking and data transport missions in low Earth orbit. The Element reflects CesiumAstro’s system-level approach to space infrastructure combining satellite bus design, RF payloads and software-defined architectures into a tightly integrated LEO platform optimized for modern satellite networks. The Element platform is designed from the ground up to support high-performance communications payloads, particularly those requiring advanced beamforming, high data throughput and flexible networking. To support advanced communications payloads, Element incorporates power and thermal subsystems sized for continuous or high-duty-cycle operation. The platform’s avionics architecture supports high data rates and robust onboard processing while maintaining fault tolerance suitable for sustained LEO operations. These design choices allow Element to support payloads that demand steady power delivery, thermal stability and reliable command-and-control in dynamic orbital environments. CesiumAstro positions the Element LEO satellite as a flexible platform for a range of mission types, including commercial broadband constellations, secure government communications, defense-related networking and technology demonstration missions.

Oxford Space Systems and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) have announced the successful launch of CarbSAR IOD, SSTL’s latest Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology demonstration satellite incorporating Oxford Space Systems’ innovative Wrapped Rib Antenna. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket operated by SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This is the first mission to incorporate Oxford Space Systems’ deployable Wrapped Rib Antenna, marking the culmination of several years of development, engineering innovation and investment in advanced UK manufacturing. Built at Oxford Space Systems’ composite and metal-mesh production facilities in Oxfordshire, the Wrapped Rib Antenna introduces a novel deployable-antenna architecture designed to deliver high-performance SAR capability from a highly compact, stowage-efficient design. The Antenna has undergone extensive ground-based testing, including radio-frequency validation, and will now demonstrate its performance in orbit.

Rocket Lab Corporation, a global leader in launch services and space systems, successfully launched its 81st Electron rocket and second launch in eight days to deploy a satellite for an Earth-observation constellation by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea’s leading university dedicated to science and technology. 'Bridging The Swarm’ lifted off on January 30th at 2:21 p.m. NZDT (01:21 UTC) from Rocket Lab’s private orbital launch site, Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, to deploy the NEONSAT-1A satellite to a 540 km low Earth orbit. NEONSAT-1A is an advanced Earth observation satellite that will test the capabilities of the South Korean government’s future constellation of NEONSAT satellites to monitor natural disasters and national security events along the Korean Peninsula. The first satellite of this constellation, NEONSAT-1, was deployed by Rocket Lab in 2024 on a mission called ‘Beginning of The Swarm’.

AXA Digital Commercial Platform, a first-of-its-kind AI-powered all-in-one risk management system, has struck a landmark deal with ICEYE, the manufacturer and operator of the world's largest synthetic aperture radar (SAR) microsatellite constellation. AXA DCP, which combines bleeding-edge technology solutions with human expertise, is a ‘one-stop shop’ for solutions to a range of rising threats, including natural disasters, cybercrime, geopolitical shifts, and more. Thanks to its partnership with ICEYE – the global leader in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite operations and a key data supplier to several NATO members – it will be able to track floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and other extreme weather events with unprecedented precision.