Science

WASHINGTON — A spacecraft designed to raise the decaying orbit of a NASA astrophysics satellite has passed environmental tests ahead of a launch as soon as June. NASA and spacecraft manufacturer Katalyst Space said May 8 that Katalyst’s Link spacecraft successfully completed a series of environmental tests at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. That work

Archival imagery from the Apollo 17 mission to the moon. The yellow box contains an enlarged area of the original photo in which three lights are visible above the lunar terrain US Department of Defense The US Department of Defense (DoD) released a trove of files on UFOs. The files include images along with government

Quiz of the week: what device have physicists used to print ‘structural colours’? – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2026 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab said May 7 it won new Pentagon-related defense business tied to the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative and to the expanding U.S. push to accelerate hypersonic weapons testing. Rocket Lab, based in California and New Zealand, provides satellite launch services, spacecraft and defense-related space systems. The company said it

Medics escort a person with a suspected hantavirus infection to an ambulance after being flown to Amsterdam, the Netherlands Peter Dejong/Associated Press/Alamy The outbreak of hantavirus on board the cruise ship MV Hondius is unlikely to become an epidemic, the World Health Organization announced today. In a press briefing, a panel of WHO scientists sought

Near-oxymoronic requirements: the materials challenges of fusion energy – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2026 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

DENVER – The job of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) is to “deliver disruptive capabilities to our warfighters faster than emerging threats,” NGA Director Lt. Gen. Michele Bredenkamp said May 6 in 2026 GEOINT Symposium keynote. Achieving that goal will require the new office to “take a lot of risk in acquisition,”

Research on love has largely neglected romance in later life Alejandro Munoz/Alamy We know almost nothing about how dating differs for older adults compared with earlier in life, a scientific conference on love has heard. But despite a lack of data, there are reasons to believe dating in later life is becoming increasingly common, and

Theranostics: building the bridge between nuclear medicine and radiation oncology – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2026 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — Voyager Technologies says it is ready should NASA change plans for supporting development of commercial space stations. In March, NASA outlined a proposed new direction for its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations, or CLD, program. The agency, outlining its concerns that a commercial market for space stations had not emerged, said it was

For minerologists, a mine is an invitation. The earth has been broken open, its veins laid bare – and those who enter hope to find unknown wonders. In the 1970s, Kali Kafi mine near the small Iranian town of Anarak fulfilled that hope. There, among the dusty desert rocks, Joachim Otteman and Darius Adib saw

Proton therapy could improve treatment options for dangerous heart rhythm disorder – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2026 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

DENVER — A group of defense and technology firms is assembling a joint effort aimed at solving a persistent problem for military users: how to access and use commercial satellite imagery and other geospatial intelligence when communications networks are unreliable or unavailable. The initiative, called Coalition Edge, brings together companies focused on analytics, cloud infrastructure

The health benefits depend on the type of honey you have TihomirLikov/Shutterstock I am a honey fanatic. On sourdough bread with lots of butter, in smoothies or Asian stir fries, I can’t get enough. I justify my habit based on some vague recollection of hearing that it has some health benefits, but am I kidding

The strange metaphor of Euglena’s tail – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2026 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

DENVER — The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is opening more of its programs to commercial vendors as it seeks faster access to satellite data and AI-driven analysis, a senior agency official said.  In recent years, the agency has shifted toward buying data and analytics from private companies rather than building systems internally, a strategy reflected in

Are you drinking the right amount of water? kazoka30/Getty Images Water bottles have become comically large in recent years, as health influencers urge us to drink more water for glowing skin, better brain function, improved athletic performance and just about everything else. But is gulping down litres of water a day really necessary? And can

Caffeine kick: can you solve our crossword on coffee physics? – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2026 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here