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NASA Probe Could Intercept Interstellar Comet, Scientists Say

Astronomers at the Pan-STARRS Observatory in Hawaii made history in 2017 when they detected ’Oumuamua, the first interstellar object (ISO) ever observed.

Two years later, the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov became the second ISO ever observed. And on July 1st, 2025, the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Rio Hurtado detected a third interstellar object in our Solar System, the comet now known as 3I/ATLAS (or C/2025 N1 ATLAS).

Like its predecessors, the arrival of this object has fueled immense scientific interest and led to proposals for missions that could rendezvous with future ISOs.

Dementia-like protein buildup found in pancreas cells before cancer develops

Scientists have uncovered dementia-like behavior in pancreas cells at risk of turning into cancer. The findings provide clues that could help in the treatment and prevention of pancreatic cancer, a difficult-to-treat disease linked to 6,900 deaths in the UK every year.

The research was published in the journal Developmental Cell in a paper titled “ER-phagy and proteostasis defects prime pancreatic epithelial state changes in KRAS-mediated oncogenesis.”

Researchers from the Cancer Research UK Scotland Center studied pancreas cells in mice over time, to see what was causing healthy cells to turn into cancer cells. They discovered that at risk of becoming cancerous, known as pre-cancers, develop faults in the cell’s recycling process (known as “autophagy”).

College of Science | researcher proposes first-time model that replaces dark energy and dark matter in explaining nature of the universe | The University of Alabama in Huntsville

Dr. Richard Lieu, a physics professor at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of The University of Alabama System, has published a paper in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity that proposes a universe built on steps of multiple singularities rather than the Big Bang alone to account for the expansion of the cosmos. The new model forgoes the need for either dark matter or dark energy as explanations for the universe’s acceleration and how structures like galaxies are generated.

The researcher’s work builds on an earlier model hypothesizing gravity can exist without mass that has garnered 41,000 reads and numerous citations since its publication in 2024.

Brain Organoids Reveal Early Changes in Familial Alzheimer’s

Researchers from ShanghaiTech University, including Zhen-Ge Luo, used brain organoids derived from individuals with fAD to examine disease-related changes that occur during early brain development. The organoids, which are lab-grown models of human brain tissue, displayed several features associated with AD: elevated amyloid protein accumulation, a reduction in mature neurons, increased cell death and gene expression differences relative to healthy controls.

Role of thymosin β4 in brain pathology

Among the differentially expressed genes, the researchers identified TMSB4X, which encodes thymosin β4 (Tβ4), a protein with anti-inflammatory properties. TMSB4X expression was reduced in both the fAD organoids and in neurons from post-mortem samples of individuals with AD, suggesting a possible link between lower Tβ4 levels and disease pathology.

Quantum precision reached in modeling molten salt behavior

Scientists have developed a new machine learning approach that accurately predicted critical and difficult-to-compute properties of molten salts, materials with diverse nuclear energy applications.

In a Chemical Science article, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers demonstrated the ability to rapidly model salts in liquid and solid state with quantum chemical accuracy. Specifically, they looked at thermodynamic properties, which control how molten salts function in high-temperature applications. These applications include dissolving nuclear fuels and improving reliability of long-term reactor operations. The AI-enabled approach was made possible by ORNL’s supercomputer Summit.

“The exciting part is the simplicity of the approach,” said ORNL’s Luke Gibson. “In fewer steps than existing approaches, machine learning gets us to higher accuracy at a faster rate.”

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