Science

WASHINGTON — Outgoing Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall delivered a stark warning to Congress in his final weeks in office: The United States risks falling behind China in the military space race unless it fundamentally transforms its space capabilities. In a report submitted to Congress last month and discussed during a Jan. 13 talk at

Meta owns social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram JRdes / Shutterstock In 2024, Meta allowed more than 3300 pornographic ads – many featuring AI-generated content – on its social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. The findings come from a report by AI Forensics, a European non-profit organisation focused on investigating tech platform algorithms.

Altermagnets imaged at the nanoscale – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2025 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — Retirements and reassignments have led to a reshuffling of leadership in part of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. At a Jan. 12 meeting of three astrophysics committees during the 245th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Mark Clampin, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, announced he was now serving as acting deputy associate administrator for

A transmission electron micrograph of a section through pancreas tissue, showing cells that produce insulin STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Alamy The first human trial of insulin-producing cells that have been gene-edited to evade immune attack is a success so far. The cells have survived and produced insulin for a month after being injected into a 42-year-old

Quasiparticles become massless – but only when they’re moving in the right direction – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2025 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

TAMPA, Fla. — Astranis said Jan. 10 that all four of its recently launched broadband satellites have passed early tests and begun using electric propulsion to reach geostationary orbit in the coming months. The satellites launched on a Falcon 9 rocket Dec. 29 and feature multiple upgrades over Arcturus, the San Francisco-based manufacturer’s debut spacecraft,

The hairs on tomato plants are actually tiny pest traps Jalaal Research Group/University of Amsterdam For hungry insects, walking along a tomato stalk in search of a green meal can be like navigating a minefield. Jared Popowski at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands was trying to measure the mechanical properties of tomato plants

Start-stop operation and the degradation impact in electrolysis – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2025 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

As geopolitical tensions escalate and new technologies reshape the nature of defense, the threat to the critical infrastructure we maintain in space is growing at an unprecedented pace. The changing landscape was underscored by United States Space Force General B. Chance Saltzman, who warned in December that adversaries are deploying hostile space capabilities at a

Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) captured on 31 December 2024 using a telescope in Río Hurtado, Chile Lionel Majzik A comet that has taken astronomers by surprise could shine as brightly as Venus in the night sky as it passes by Earth over the next few days. Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) was spotted in April last

Higher-order brain function revealed by new analysis of fMRI data – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2025 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

LOS ANGELES – Devastating fires here have forced the closure and evacuation of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory as flames came less than one mile away from the facility. JPL, which operates robotic spacecraft and the Deep Space Network used for planetary missions, is located in a mandatory evacuation zone but officials have not reported

La Niña increases the risk of drought in certain regions, as occurred in California in 2022 David McNew / Getty Images A weak La Niña climate pattern has emerged in the Pacific Ocean, months later than was initially forecast. This will raise the risk of drought and heavy rain in parts of the world, even

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe survives its first close-up solar encounter – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2025 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

ORLANDO, Fla. — Rocket Lab is asking the incoming administration to reconsider NASA’s plans for Mars Sample Return (MSR), arguing it can offer an approach that is faster and less expensive than the agency’s alternatives. NASA announced Jan. 7 it would spend the next year and a half studying two new architectures for MSR. One

The Palisades Fire advancing on homes in Los Angeles Ethan Swope/Associated Press/Alamy Fast-moving wildfires in the Los Angeles area are burning out of control long after fire season normally ends in California. Powerful Santa Ana winds are not unusual for this time of year but they have arrived after months of drought. The combination has

Vacuum expertise enables physics research – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2025 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here