Science news summaries
Essential facts and source links for recent science stories.
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Space-farming methods could support fresh-produce supplies in harsh regions
Space-farming systems such as hydroponics and sensor-controlled greenhouses could supply fresh produce in arid, high-altitude and remote areas. OPIT professor Sylvester Kaczmarek told Forbes they suit high-value crops, but costs and energy use limit wider adoption. -
Shinbone compression linked to better brain-injury outcomes in animals
In mouse and miniature-pig experiments, controlled shinbone loading triggered bone cells to release protective signals into the blood and was associated with longer survival and less brain damage after injury. The preclinical finding has not been tested in people. -
Starship reaches orbit for first time as SpaceX plans early deorbit
SpaceX’s Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time on its 14th flight Sept. 28. The company said it placed 26 Starlink V3 satellites in orbit and would deorbit after three hours there, shortening a mission planned to last nearly 10 hours. -
Five winners receive $650,000 in NASA contest for Mars food systems
NASA’s Mars food-systems challenge awarded $650,000 to five winners. Philadelphia’s Chinyere Ukeje won the $300,000 top prize for a modular fresh-meal concept designed to work through resource or crew-time shortages for a 15-person crew’s 500-sol mission. -
MarsLight-11 adds a non-squamous NSCLC substudy to Phase III trial
Innovent has expanded its global Phase III MarsLight-11 trial to add non-squamous NSCLC patients. The new substudy will enroll patients with advanced or metastatic disease that progressed after chemotherapy and immunotherapy; IBI363 monotherapy will be compared with docetaxel. -
Study links centenarian parents to lower death and disease risks in adult children
At any given age, adults with at least one centenarian parent had 42% lower risk of death, 33% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and 32% lower risk of high blood pressure than comparison participants, a JAMA Network Open study found. -
Kayrasaurus is the largest known therizinosaur from Jehol
Researchers identified Kayrasaurus changliensis from an almost complete Early Cretaceous fossil in Liaoning, China. Estimated at 3.6 meters long, it is the largest therizinosaur known from the Jehol Biota, at least 1.6 times the size of the previous record-holder. -
Researchers have yet to identify ancient wood at Turkey’s Durupınar site
Researchers drilling the boat-shaped Durupınar Formation in Turkey say they have not identified any material as ancient wood or established its age. Laboratory results are pending, and a hard layer encountered 4–5 meters down remains unidentified. -
OVHcloud and CGI secure 30-month contract for ESA Earth-data system
OVHcloud and CGI have won a 30-month European Space Agency contract to build Digital EO, a system for storing and processing Europe’s Earth-observation satellite data. It will be deployed in Italy, France and Germany, with support operations in Poland. -
UK owner’s three dark solar cells prompt online fault theories
A UK owner found three darkened cells on a two-year-old, ground-mounted DMEGC panel that still produced power. Reddit commenters raised microcracks as a possible cause and urged checking the busbars, but the owner could not tell whether output had fallen. -
Birmingham researchers test ear-based oxygen monitor across skin tones
A University Hospitals Birmingham study is testing an EarSwitch monitor that shines light into the ear canal to see if it measures blood oxygen more accurately across skin tones than fingertip devices. Twenty-nine volunteers took part; no findings are reported. -
Buterin sees next year’s Hegota as Ethereum’s likely last conventional fork
Buterin says next year’s Hegota is likely Ethereum’s last conventional fork with technology familiar to a 2015 developer. He says later work would involve recursive STARKs, formal verification, optimized consensus and quantum safety; Hegota remains in early planning. -
Researchers look beyond wastewater to curb Baltic Sea drug pollution
Researchers are studying ways to curb pharmaceutical pollution in the Baltic Sea. They say doctors may weigh environmental impact when clinically suitable options exist, and unused drugs can be returned to pharmacies. This does not mean stopping needed treatment. -
Eight East of England authorities report 67% more road-melting cases
Comparable figures from eight East of England authorities show 55 reported road-melting cases in 2025-26, up from 33 in 2023-24—a 67% rise. Across the region, authorities reported more than 200 cases over four years, according to the BBC. -
TakeMe2Space targets Oct. 1 SpaceX flight for orbital-computing satellite
India’s TakeMe2Space plans to launch its MOI-1A orbital-computing satellite on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission on Oct. 1. The under-50-kg craft is designed to run customer-uploaded AI models on data in orbit and send analysis to Earth instead of raw data. -
EPRI’s 2004 and 2006 reports offer enduring lessons on generator maintenance
Two EPRI reports from 2004 and 2006 still offer generator-maintenance lessons: one surveyed 118 generators; the other found online partial-discharge and electromagnetic-interference tests useful for screening, but not a replacement for physical inspections. -
Two Pakistani pilots prepare for first foreign astronaut flight to Tiangong
Pakistani pilots Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud are training in China for a planned weeklong mission to China's Tiangong station; one would become its first foreign astronaut. SUPARCO expects to choose in mid-to-late October, but no launch date has been announced. -
Tom Rahill wins $10,000 after capturing 96 Everglades pythons
Tom Rahill won the top prize in this year's Burmese python hunt after capturing 96 snakes in Everglades National Park, earning $10,000. The park was among the areas open to hunters; officials say removing the invasive snakes is critical to native wildlife. -
Study attributes most Apennine seismic activity to crustal delamination
A University of Florence-led study attributes most Apennine seismic activity to lower-crust delamination, not subduction alone: the crust peels away and sinks into the mantle, shifting stresses in the upper crust and potentially triggering earthquakes. -
Moffit says 2026–27 El Niño has reached record warmth
Mitchell Moffit of AsapSCIENCE says the 2026–27 El Niño’s ocean-temperature anomaly is a record 3.08 degrees above average and may reach around 4 degrees. His video forecasts flooding in parts of the Americas and hotter, drier conditions in parts of Africa and Oceania. -
Elias 2-24 b: the youngest planet found, estimated under 1 million years old
NASA says astronomers identified Elias 2-24 b, estimated to be under 1 million years old, as the youngest planet yet found. It remains in the gas-and-dust disk where it formed, orbiting a star about 450 light-years from Earth, and is roughly Jupiter-sized. -
Michigan chemists make ammonia from nitrate in plant-inspired lab test
University of Michigan chemists report that a plant-inspired iron catalyst converted nitrate into ammonia at an 85% rate under blue LED light at room temperature in lab tests. The early-stage chemistry has not been tested in real-world wastewater. -
A new database of roughly 4 million Arctic lakes offers clues to permafrost thaw
The free Lost Lakes map tracks changes in roughly 4 million Arctic lakes nearly in real time, with records dating to 2016. Researchers say lake formation, shrinkage and disappearance can offer clues to permafrost thaw, which is difficult to measure directly below ground. -
SpaceX targets Sept. 28 Starship flight that could reach orbit for first time
SpaceX is targeting Monday, Sept. 28, for Starship’s 14th test flight from Starbase, Texas, with a launch window from 8:15 to 9:30 a.m. ET. The mission could send the rocket into orbit for the first time; SpaceX plans to livestream it. -
East Coast osprey breeding falters as menhaden fishing draws scrutiny
Chesapeake ospreys had their worst documented breeding season in 2026, with declines along the East Coast. Only 28% of saltwater study areas produced enough young to sustain populations, versus 93% of freshwater sites; menhaden’s link to the decline is unproven. -
Eve Roberts’ 1986 call led experts to Shropshire mammoths
Eve Roberts' 1986 call led experts to five mammoth remains in Shropshire. Radiocarbon dating put them at about 14,000 years old, thousands of years later than scientists thought mammoths survived in Britain. The adult's skeleton is the most complete found in Britain. -
Bill Andrews says telomerase could yield an anti-aging pill, but the claim remains speculative
Molecular biologist Bill Andrews says broad telomerase activation could yield a pill to slow or reverse biological aging, but that remains speculative. His candidate compound produces only a fraction of the activity he seeks; he says research costs $2 million a month. -
Germany’s roadmap sets 2045 fossil-fuel exit, 80% renewable power by 2030
Germany’s new government roadmap explicitly commits the country to ending oil, gas and coal use by 2045, while setting a goal for renewables to supply 80% of electricity by 2030, up from 55%. It also calls for 12 gigawatts of new onshore wind and 215 gigawatts of solar capacity.
