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ScienceBaton Rouge Business Report

LSU lands $20M to unlock some of nature’s fastest secrets

Louisiana State University has received a twenty-million-dollar grant to study some of nature's most rapid biological processes. The funding will support research into mechanisms that happen at scales too fast for conventional observation — the kind of molecular events that occur in billionths of a second. First, the money will establish new laboratory infrastructure at LSU's Baton Rouge campus, allowing researchers to deploy advanced imaging and spectroscopy equipment that can actually capture these ultrafast phenomena in real time. Then, the grant will fund a team of physicists and chemists working on photosynthesis, enzyme reactions, and other processes where timing is everything. And finally, the work promises practical applications: understanding how plants convert light into energy, for instance, could eventually inform better solar technology or more efficient crop design. The grant reflects a broader recognition that some of biology's most important puzzles live at timescales we've only recently learned to measure.

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ScienceYahoo

Scientists Just Found a Dino Artifact We’ve Never Seen Before—and It’s Answering a Major Riddle

A high school teacher in North Dakota kneels beside two massive impressions pressed into ancient rock. Each footprint spans three feet across. They're seventy million years old, and they belong to a Tyrannosaurus rex. Until now, scientists had never found a T. rex trackway—a sequence of footprints showing how the animal actually moved. The discovery, made in the Hell Creek Formation near the Montana border, gives researchers their first direct evidence of the dinosaur's walking speed and gait. Paleontologists had relied entirely on skeletal remains to estimate how fast a T. rex could move. A trackway shows something bones alone cannot: the animal's weight distribution, stride length, and the rhythm of its step across the landscape. The prints suggest the creature walked more deliberately than some models had predicted. The teacher's find has already shifted how scientists think about T. rex locomotion.

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ScienceWIRED

Scientists Detect Radio Signals From an Exoplanet for the First Time in History

Astronomers have detected radio signals emanating directly from an exoplanet for the first time. The signals came from a gas giant called Tau Boötis b, located roughly 51 light-years away. Researchers used the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico to pick up the emissions, which appear to be generated by the planet's magnetic field interacting with radiation from its host star. This is the first confirmed detection of radio waves from a world beyond our solar system. Previously, astronomers had only theoretical models for how exoplanets might produce such signals. The discovery opens a new method for identifying potentially habitable worlds. Researchers will now search for similar radio signatures from other exoplanets to refine what they're listening for.

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Sciencearstechnica

NASA chief concerned China may deny access to parts of South Pole

In Antarctica, researchers move across ice toward the lunar south pole—a region where water ice lies buried, precious for future missions. The concern isn't about Earth's pole, though. NASA's administrator, Jared Isaacman, has warned that China's lunar ambitions could restrict American access to critical areas around the moon's south pole, where both nations want to establish a presence. China hasn't explicitly claimed territory, but its planned missions to the region have prompted worry at NASA that Beijing might control access to resources or landing sites once it arrives. Isaacman told colleagues NASA had "dodged a bullet" when a recent Chinese lunar mission faced delays. The tension reflects a broader competition for the moon's most valuable real estate—places where ice deposits could sustain long-term human exploration. For now, both nations continue their separate paths toward the south pole.

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ScienceSpace

'Mars constantly throws surprises at you': Perseverance rover finds evidence of ancient hot water in Red Planet crater

The rover's instruments scan another rust-colored outcrop in Jezero Crater. Sensors read the mineral composition, layer by layer. The data comes back unexpected—evidence of something that shouldn't be there. Perseverance has found signs of ancient hot water moving through rock in Mars's Jezero Crater, where the rover has been searching for traces of past microbial life since landing in 2021. The discovery suggests the planet's early hydrothermal systems were more complex than scientists had thought. What makes this particular finding notable is that the hot water appears to have circulated through the rock long after the crater's initial formation, suggesting sustained geological activity rather than a single wet period. The rover continues its methodical work across the crater floor, each day bringing data that rewrites what we thought we knew about Mars billions of years ago.

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ScienceForbes

The Full ‘Harvest Moon’ Rises This Weekend — Why This One Is Different

The harvest moon this weekend will rise just after sunset, giving farmers and stargazers an unusually long window to see it. That extended visibility is the real difference this year. Historically, the harvest moon—the full moon closest to the autumn equinox—would linger near the horizon for several nights, rising only about fifty minutes later each evening instead of the usual fifty minutes earlier. That gradual shift meant farmers in places like the American Midwest could work by moonlight well into the night, gathering crops before frost. This weekend's harvest moon won't quite match those conditions, but it'll still offer more evening light than a typical full moon would. The effect's subtle, but it's the reason this particular moon earned its name centuries before electric lights existed.

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ScienceNature

Reference genomes and fossils revise bat family phylogeny and biogeography

Scientists studying bat genomes and fossil records have fundamentally revised our understanding of where bats first appeared and how they're related to other mammals. The research, published in Nature, used genetic data from 16 bat species alongside fossil evidence to trace the group's origins back to Europe roughly 60 million years ago—much earlier than previously thought and in a place most researchers didn't expect. First, the study shows bats diverged from their closest living relatives far sooner than genetic clocks had suggested, reshaping the entire mammalian family tree. Then, the European origin point contradicts the long-held assumption that bats emerged in Asia or Africa. And finally, the work reveals that bats' unusual traits—their ability to fly, their long lifespans, their resistance to disease—may have deeper evolutionary roots than scientists realized. The findings will likely reshape how paleontologists interpret the fossil record going forward.

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ScienceNew York Post

Caltech astronomers capture incredible video of supermassive black hole blasting a blazar towards earth

A beam of light streaks across the dark. It's aimed at us—at Earth—traveling through the void for thousands of years. Astronomers at Caltech have been watching it arrive, piece by piece, for nearly three decades. What they've assembled is a video. Twenty-seven years of observations of a supermassive black hole, one that sits at the center of a distant galaxy, firing jets of plasma directly toward our planet. The black hole's violent rotation creates these jets—twin beams that shoot outward at nearly the speed of light. One of them happens to point our way. Astronomers call this object a blazar, and it's rare to track one this closely for this long. The Caltech team used radio telescopes to capture the motion, then reconstructed what the jets actually look like in motion. It's a portrait of something we can't see directly, built from decades of patient measurement. The beam continues its journey toward us still.

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ScienceGizmodo

Astronomers Finally Pick Up Radio Signals From a Planet Beyond Our Solar System

For decades, astronomers have searched for radio emissions from planets orbiting distant stars. They've found them around Jupiter and Saturn, signals tied to auroras and magnetic fields. But detecting the same from an exoplanet—a world in another solar system—remained out of reach. This week, that changed. An international team of astronomers picked up radio signals from an exoplanet roughly 35 light-years away, orbiting a star called Tau Ceti. The detection marks the first confirmed radio emission from a world beyond our solar system. The signals likely stem from interactions between the planet's magnetic field and radiation from its host star, much like Earth's own auroras. The finding opens a new way to study distant planets' atmospheres and magnetic properties—characteristics that might hint at habitability. Researchers say the technique could eventually help identify worlds more likely to support life.

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Sciencecnn

A high school teacher stumbled across two giant footprints — and marked a first for science

A high school teacher in North Dakota has discovered what scientists believe is the first confirmed trackway of an adult Tyrannosaurus rex. The find came about when the teacher spotted what he thought was a single enormous footprint, prompting paleontologists to return and excavate the site more thoroughly. They uncovered four distinct tracks in total, dating to 66.5 million years ago. First, the discovery itself is rare—adult T. rex fossils are scarce, and trackways showing multiple footprints from the same animal are rarer still. Then, the spacing and depth of these prints offer researchers their first direct evidence about how fast a full-grown T. rex actually walked, something previously estimated only through computer models and skeletal analysis. And finally, the find demonstrates how citizen science—a teacher's curiosity and willingness to report an unusual observation—continues to reshape our understanding of prehistoric life. The trackway remains under study in North Dakota.

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ScienceEatthis.com

5 Daily Exercises That Improve Balance Better Than Walking After 65 - Eat This Not That

A podiatrist in the United States has identified five targeted exercises that improve balance and ankle stability more effectively than walking alone for people over sixty-five. The exercises focus on strengthening the ankles and core muscles that control stability. They include single-leg stands, heel-to-toe walking, and resistance work with bands. A podiatrist notes that while walking remains valuable for overall fitness, these specific movements address the muscle groups most responsible for fall prevention—a distinction many older adults miss. Falls remain a leading cause of injury in people over sixty-five, which is why targeted balance work has become standard advice from physical therapists and geriatricians. The recommendation is to practice these exercises three to four times weekly, ideally under guidance from a physical therapist to ensure proper form.

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SciencePhys.Org

Milky Way's first microblazar may produce fastest particles in the galaxy - Phys.org

Astronomers working with radio telescopes across Europe have identified what appears to be the first microblazar within our own galaxy—a rare stellar system where a black hole orbits close to a massive star and fires jets of particles into space. First, the discovery matters because microblazing has been observed in distant galaxies but never before confirmed in the Milky Way itself, making this a local laboratory for studying extreme physics. Then there's the mechanics: the black hole's jets are thought to accelerate particles to nearly the speed of light, potentially producing some of the fastest particles anywhere in our galaxy. And finally, the system's tight orbital configuration—the black hole and star locked in close proximity—creates conditions so violent that they're difficult to replicate even in theory. This find gives astronomers a chance to study relativistic jets up close, rather than from billions of light-years away.

Read the story Phys.Org ↗

ScienceFinancial Times

Genetic trove aims to unlock bats’ secrets to long life

Scientists have sequenced the genomes of 16 bat species in what's being called the most comprehensive genetic study of the group to date. The work reveals that bats originated in Europe roughly 52 million years ago, overturning the long-held assumption that they emerged in Asia. First, the genetic data shows bats diverged from their closest living relatives—the carnivorous mammals including dogs and bears—far earlier than previously thought, which reshapes our understanding of mammalian evolution. Then, the researchers identified genetic adaptations that may explain bats' remarkable longevity; they live two to three times longer than similarly sized mammals, and their genomes carry mutations in genes linked to aging and immunity. And finally, the European origin finding suggests bats spread globally from a single ancestral population, which has implications for how we track disease transmission in modern bat populations. The study appears in a peer-reviewed journal and involved researchers across multiple institutions.

Read the story Financial Times ↗

ScienceSpace

Scientists find weird exoplanet that orbits its star in the wrong direction

In the darkness beyond our solar system, a planet moves against the grain. It orbits its star in the opposite direction from everything else in that system—a solitary dancer spinning backwards while the music plays forward. Astronomers at Queen Mary University of London identified this exoplanet around a small star using data that revealed its retrograde orbit. Most planets form from the same rotating disk of gas and dust, so they naturally orbit in the same direction. This one doesn't. The discovery challenges the conventional understanding of how planetary systems assemble themselves. What makes this particular finding noteworthy isn't just the backwards motion—it's that this planet orbits a small star. Previous backwards planets were found around massive stars, where gravitational encounters between young planets could theoretically flip an orbit. A small star offers no such explanation. The mechanism remains unclear. Astronomers will keep watching. The answer may rewrite how we think planets begin.

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ScienceGizmodo.com

A Deep-Space Shark Is Prowling the Cosmos—and the Photo Just Won a Major Award - Gizmodo

A photograph of what looks like a shark gliding through the void has won the Astronomy Photographer of the Year award. The image, captured by Dan Tan in Malaysia, shows the Shark Nebula—a cloud of gas and dust about 600 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cepheus. What makes it remarkable isn't just the resemblance to a predator, but the technical feat: Tan used a combination of narrow-band filters to isolate specific wavelengths of light, revealing details invisible to ordinary observation. The competition, now in its sixteenth year, draws thousands of submissions from amateur and professional astronomers worldwide. This particular image caught judges' attention because it transforms something distant and abstract into something visceral and immediate. A shark prowling the cosmos—it's what happens when patient observation meets genuine artistry, and when the universe cooperates with the metaphor.

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SciencePhys

Physicists crack the math connecting ultraslow quantum magnetism to ultrafast black-hole physics

Physicists at MIT have found a mathematical bridge between two phenomena that seem to operate at opposite ends of the universe. One involves quantum magnets cooling to near absolute zero, moving almost imperceptibly. The other concerns black holes, where time and space behave in ways Einstein struggled to describe. The connection isn't metaphorical. Researchers discovered that equations governing how magnetism behaves in laboratory conditions map directly onto the physics of black-hole interiors. It's a symmetry that shouldn't exist, yet does. The finding emerged from work on what's called the SYK model, a theoretical framework that's become central to modern physics. What this means in practice: physicists can now test ideas about black holes using tabletop experiments with cold atoms. They won't build a black hole. But they might understand one better by studying something that moves at a fraction of a millimeter per second in a lab in Cambridge.

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ScienceSpace.com

Large Hadron Collider is still on the hunt for short-lived quantum black holes and a theory of everything - Space

The Large Hadron Collider near Geneva continues its search for quantum black holes—objects so dense they'd evaporate almost instantly. First, physicists believe that if these black holes exist at all, they'd form and disappear within fractions of a second when particles collide at nearly the speed of light. The LHC's detectors are sensitive enough to catch the telltale radiation signature they'd leave behind. Then there's the theoretical payoff: finding them would validate certain models of extra dimensions, which some physicists think could help explain why gravity behaves so differently from other fundamental forces. And finally, the hunt feeds into the larger quest for a unified theory—one set of rules that describes everything from subatomic particles to the cosmos itself. The collider's been running for over a decade without detecting these black holes yet, but the search continues because the stakes are genuinely high.

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ScienceScience Daily

Scientists discover first new penguin species in more than 100 years - ScienceDaily

A researcher holds a bone fragment recovered from the Kerguelen Islands, turning it slowly under laboratory light. The DNA inside tells a story no one had read before. Genetic analysis has revealed a fourth species of gentoo penguin, living on the remote Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. Until now, scientists believed gentoos were a single species. The discovery emerged from studying both living birds and museum specimens, showing that what we'd classified as one group actually breaks into four distinct populations, each genetically separate. The newly identified species lives in near isolation on those islands, thousands of kilometers from the nearest mainland. What makes this finding particularly significant is that it happened through museum work—bones and preserved samples that had sat in collections for decades, waiting for technology to catch up. The research also carries a warning: warming oceans are already affecting penguin colonies, and a species found only on one remote island faces risks that more widespread populations might avoid.

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ScienceNPR

This 'fire amoeba' pushes the limit of what's possible for complex life

Scientists have discovered an amoeba that survives at temperatures previously thought impossible for complex life. The organism, found in hot springs, can endure heat of 145 degrees Fahrenheit—a threshold researchers believed no eukaryote, a cell with a nucleus, could tolerate. First, the amoeba's survival mechanism involves specialized proteins that prevent its cellular machinery from breaking down under extreme stress, a discovery that challenges long-held assumptions about the limits of biology. Then, the finding suggests that life on Earth may persist in far hotter environments than we've searched so far, potentially reshaping where scientists look for organisms in geothermal zones. And finally, understanding how this creature's cells remain stable at such temperatures could inform research into preserving biological materials and developing heat-resistant crops. The work was funded by NASA, which sees implications for the search for life beyond Earth in extreme conditions.

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SciencePhys

Astronomers detect radio signals coming from an exoplanet for the first time

A radio telescope in Puerto Rico has picked up something it's never caught before: a faint signal, unmistakably from beyond our solar system. Astronomers have detected radio waves coming directly from an exoplanet—a world orbiting a distant star. The signal came from a Jupiter-like planet called tau Boötis b, located about fifty light-years away. Using the Arecibo Observatory, researchers identified a specific radio signature that matched the planet's orbital position and magnetic field strength. What makes this significant is the method itself. Until now, astronomers inferred exoplanet properties indirectly, through light and gravitational effects. This is the first time they've heard one speak directly. The radio waves likely come from auroras—charged particles colliding in the planet's atmosphere, much like Earth's northern lights. If this technique works, it opens a new way to map distant worlds and eventually search for life. The signal is faint, but it's there.

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ScienceFinancial Times

New ‘fire amoeba’ breaks heat survival record

A single-celled organism sits in laboratory water heated to sixty-three degrees Celsius. Around it, the proteins that hold complex life together should be collapsing. They aren't. Researchers in Japan have identified a new species of amoeba that survives and reproduces at temperatures previously thought impossible for anything more complex than bacteria. The organism, found in hot springs near Tokyo, breaks the upper thermal limit for eukaryotes—cells with nuclei—by several degrees. Until now, scientists believed complex cells couldn't function above fifty-six degrees. This one does. The discovery suggests the boundaries of habitability on Earth may be wider than we thought, and raises questions about where else such extremophiles might exist, in environments we've barely begun to explore.

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ScienceScienceAlert

150,000 Tons of Radioactive Waste Were Dumped in The Atlantic. Decades Later, It's Visibly Oozing.

For decades, the United States and several European nations disposed of radioactive waste by dumping it into the ocean. Between 1946 and 1970 alone, the U.S. pushed roughly 47,800 containers of radioactive material into the Atlantic west of San Francisco. Many missed their designated sites entirely. Now there's visible evidence of the cost. Scientists have discovered that those drums are actively leaking. The containers, scattered across roughly 1,400 square kilometers of seafloor, are corroding and releasing radioactive material into the water. The U.K., France, and Switzerland also dumped radioactive waste during this period—the international total reaching around 200,000 barrels. Researchers are now assessing how far the contamination has spread and what it means for marine life and coastal ecosystems in the region. The full scope of the damage remains under investigation.

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ScienceScienceDaily

Scientists discover first new penguin species in more than 100 years

Researchers working in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica have identified what they're calling a new penguin species, the first formal discovery of its kind since 1904. The species, found through genetic analysis and physical examination of museum specimens and live birds, appears to have diverged from the Adélie penguin population thousands of years ago. First, the genetic markers show it's distinct enough to warrant separate classification, though the birds look similar to their Adélie cousins to the untrained eye. Then, researchers estimate the population at somewhere between three and five thousand individuals, concentrated in a relatively small area of the Ross Sea. And finally, the discovery underscores how much remains unknown about Antarctic wildlife even in well-studied regions — genetic tools have simply made visible what was always there. The finding may reshape how scientists monitor penguin populations as climate change alters sea ice patterns across the continent.

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ScienceScienceAlert

Astronomers Detect Radio Signals Coming Directly From an Exoplanet For The First Time

Astronomers have detected radio waves coming directly from an exoplanet for the first time. The signals are coming from Beta Pictoris b, a young gas giant about sixty-three light-years away, orbiting a star in the southern sky. Researchers used the Low Frequency Array in the Netherlands to pick up the emissions. The signals likely come from auroras—those shimmering lights we see near Earth's poles, but vastly more powerful. On Beta Pictoris b, the aurora appears to be driven by the planet's intense magnetic field interacting with material streaming from its parent star. This detection opens a new way to study exoplanets we can't see directly through telescopes. Until now, we've relied on indirect methods—watching for the wobble a planet causes in its star, or the dip in light as it passes in front of one. Radio waves offer something different: a direct signal from the planet itself. That changes how we might search for and understand worlds beyond our solar system.

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ScienceKSL News

'Great for our water supply': BYU study examines how rock glaciers fit into Utah's water puzzle

Researchers at Brigham Young University are mapping an overlooked water source in Utah's mountains: rock glaciers, which are masses of rocky debris holding ice beneath the surface. First, these formations store significant freshwater that feeds streams and aquifers even during dry seasons, making them crucial to a region already stressed by megadrought. Then, scientists discovered that gravity mapping—a technique typically used to study subsurface geology—can detect ice hidden under rock without invasive drilling, allowing them to survey these reserves across Utah's high country more efficiently than before. And finally, as climate change accelerates the melting of traditional glaciers, rock glaciers may become an increasingly important backup supply, though researchers caution that this ice, too, will eventually disappear if warming continues. The work suggests that understanding these camouflaged reservoirs could help water managers plan for a drier future.

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ScienceCNN

Lunar orbiter spots ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ new crater on the moon

A bright spot appeared on a routine map check—ringed by dark material, unmistakable against the lunar surface. Scientists looking at Moon Reconnaissance Orbiter imagery noticed it immediately. The crater measures 222 metres across. It wasn't there before spring 2024. It's the largest newly formed impact crater yet observed anywhere in the solar system, and it formed recently enough that the ejected material around its rim hasn't yet darkened under cosmic weathering. That freshness is what makes it visible at all. The impact likely came from a meteoroid no more than a few metres wide. What matters for lunar science is timing: craters this large form rarely enough that researchers might wait decades between sightings. This one arrived during an era when we're actually watching. The Moon keeps its own record, written in stone.

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ScienceScienceAlert

Mountains That Helped Complex Life Flourish May Lie Hidden Beneath Antarctic Ice

Scientists studying Antarctica have found evidence of ancient mountain ranges buried beneath the ice sheet. The mountains, comparable in scale to the Himalayas, existed roughly 600 million years ago when the continent was part of the supercontinent Gondwana. First, these peaks appear to have altered regional climate and ocean circulation patterns, creating conditions that favored the emergence of complex life forms. Then, the mountains' erosion released nutrients into surrounding waters, which would have supported early animal development. And finally, the timing aligns with what geologists call the Ediacaran period, when the first recognizable animals began to appear in the fossil record. Most of these ancient ranges have since worn away, leaving only traces detectable through modern geological surveys.

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ScienceNature

RamanOmics decodes the spatial vibrational–molecular architecture of senescence in aging and repair

Researchers at Harvard Medical School have developed a technique called RamanOmics that identifies senescent cells—sometimes called zombie cells—by reading their chemical fingerprints. First, the method uses Raman spectroscopy, which measures how molecules vibrate at specific wavelengths, creating a kind of barcode unique to aging cells. Then, artificial intelligence processes these spectral signatures to map where senescent cells cluster within tissue samples, revealing patterns that standard microscopy would miss. And finally, this spatial information lets scientists measure biological age more precisely and understand how these dormant cells contribute to aging and tissue repair. The approach opens a path to tracking cellular senescence in living tissue without the damage that comes from traditional biopsies. Harvard's work suggests RamanOmics could eventually help develop therapies that clear zombie cells or restore their function.

Read the story Nature ↗

ScienceThe New York Times

What a Massive New Crater Means for Future Moon Bases

A bright spot appeared on the moon's surface, ringed by dark material like a fresh wound. Mapmakers noticed it during a routine check—a crater that hadn't been there months before. NASA's lunar orbiter had spotted something rare. The crater measures 222 metres across, the largest newly formed impact anywhere in the solar system since observations began. It formed sometime after spring 2024, likely from a meteorite strike. The dark halo surrounding it is pulverized rock thrown outward by the collision, still fresh enough not to have weathered into the grey lunar dust. For future moon bases, these impacts matter. They show where meteorites still strike, and how violently. Understanding the crater's composition and the force behind it helps engineers design habitats that can withstand what the moon still throws at them. The crater sits waiting for closer study.

Read the story The New York Times ↗

ScienceBBC Sky at Night Magazine

These are the Hubble Space Telescope's most spectacular images of our Solar System

The Hubble Space Telescope has spent three decades pointed at the cosmos, and some of its sharpest work has been closer to home than you'd expect. The orbiting observatory has captured images of Jupiter's Great Red Spot with a clarity that ground-based telescopes simply can't match, revealing storm systems and atmospheric detail that reshape how we understand gas giant weather. Hubble's been particularly useful for tracking changes on the outer planets — Saturn's rings, Neptune's cloud formations, the icy surfaces of moons — because it sits above Earth's atmosphere, which distorts light before it reaches us. These observations have helped planetary scientists refine models of how solar systems evolve and change over time. For decades we've assumed Hubble's real value lay in the deep universe. Turns out, some of its most revealing work has been watching our own backyard.

Read the story BBC Sky at Night Magazine ↗