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How the sun’s galactic journey and superflare-filled youth shaped Earth’s climate

At the center of our solar system, the sun influences every planet that orbits it. In two recent studies, scientists uncovered how ancient events in the sun’s history may have helped create Earth’s unique climate and driven previously unexplained climatic shifts.

In new research, scientists at NASA’s SHIELD (Solar Wind with Hydrogen Ion charge Exchange and Large-Scale Dynamics) center—one of NASA’s DRIVE (Diversify, Realize, Integrate, Venture, Educate) Science Centers—trace the trajectory of the heliosphere, the massive bubble created by our sun that envelops our solar system, as it moved through our galaxy and influenced Earth’s climate along the way. In another paper, a NASA scientist and co-authors investigate how the younger, dimmer sun managed to heat Earth by seeding the production of potent greenhouse gases.

Scientists Finally Solve a 20-Year Mystery About Diamond Melting

Direct measurements of diamond melting under extreme pressure resolved a long-standing theory-experiment mismatch and could improve both fusion research and planetary models.

Diamond is not only a gemstone. This exceptionally hard form of carbon is also used in the tiny capsules that surround fuel in inertial confinement fusion experiments, and researchers think carbon may form diamonds that fall through the interiors of ice giants such as Neptune and Uranus.

Both environments expose diamond to immense pressure, yet experiments and computer simulations have long produced conflicting descriptions of what happens to the material under such extreme conditions.

Scientists Observe Quantum Heat Waves at Room Temperature For The First Time

We’ve got another notable first in the field of physics to report: A specific type of quantum behavior in waves of heat has now been observed at room temperature, rather than at the ultra-low cryogenic temperatures that are usually required.

The quantum behavior is phonon focusing, which is where atomic-level, heat-carrying vibrations (the quantum packets known as phonons) travel through a non-metallic material in specific patterns, like rays from a star.

Crucially, this is different from the standard behavior of heat-transporting phonons at room temperature, where the heat spreads out evenly in all directions (a classical rather than quantum way of moving).

Consciousness beyond the brain

Most scientists think that consciousness is created by the brain. After all, most assume consciousness vanishes if the brain is destroyed. But what if this consensus view is radically mistaken? Join distinguished Cambridge scientist Rupert Sheldrake as he argues that the mind extends beyond the brain and explores the radical implications of this account.

Rewiring of protein interaction networks by autism mutations

For more than two decades, researchers have identified hundreds of genes that increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Yet multiple fundamental questions have remained unanswered: among them, how do mutations in these genes lead directly to changes in brain development and how can that knowledge be translated into more effective therapies?

In a landmark study published in Science, scientists have taken a major step toward answering both questions. The findings are the result of more than a decade of work. By building the largest-ever molecular interaction map of autism, the team revealed how hundreds of genes and dozens of mutations converge within a surprisingly small number of shared protein networks, hurdling a major roadblock to the development of new precision medicines.

Rather than focusing only on the genes linked to autism, the researchers mapped the proteins encoded by those genes and discovered exactly how individual disease-causing mutations can rewire the molecular machinery of the developing brain. The work uncovers an entirely new layer of disease biology that can be targeted therapeutically and provides a framework for designing medicines that directly address a wide range of underlying molecular causes of autism.

Token Caching Secrets: Cut AI Enterprise Costs By 80%

Token caching can cut enterprise AI costs by 80%

In 2026, the biggest cost advantage isn’t choosing a cheaper model — it’s token caching.

When the same system prompts or knowledge base get reused, providers discount that input by 80–90%. Claude Sonnet 5, for example, drops from $2.00 to $0.20 per million tokens on cached content.

Enterprises with heavy RAG or multi-turn workflows are leaving $400K–$520K on the table annually by not using it.

Key takeaway for procurement:

Stop comparing raw token prices. Start modeling cost-per-result on your actual query patterns. Smaller models with strong caching often win.

Full analysis:

Continue reading “Token Caching Secrets: Cut AI Enterprise Costs By 80%” | >

Why World Models Could Change Robotics, 3D, and Creativity

World Labs co-founders Fei-Fei Li, Justin Johnson, and Ben Mildenhall join a16z General Partner Martin Casado to discuss Atlas, their latest world model, and what it reveals about the pursuit of spatial intelligence. At the center of Atlas is what the team calls “new view prediction”: given images or views of a scene, the model predicts what that environment should look like from a different position in space and time. This brings generation and 3D reconstruction into the same model, and raises a broader question about whether predicting views could become a useful primitive for understanding the physical world. They discuss the technical bets behind the model, what it can and can’t yet capture, and the importance of dynamics, editability, and simulation as world models develop. The conversation also explores applications in creative work, architecture, and robotics, where Fei-Fei argues that one of today’s biggest constraints is access to real-world training data. Timestamps: 00:00 — Intro 00:51 — What Atlas Is & Why It Matters 05:15 — Is This a Scaled-Up Video Model or a New Architecture? 08:15 — Spatial Intelligence & Why New View Prediction Matters 21:27 — Did You Know It Was Going to Work? 24:42 — Use Cases: Creatives, Games & Robotics 35:21 — The Elephant in the Room: Video Models vs World Models 37:55 — Will We Get 4D Video You Can Walk Around In? 42:22 — Why New View Prediction Is the Next Token Prediction Resources: Follow Fei-Fei Li on X: https://twitter.com/drfeifei Follow Justin Johnson on X: https://twitter.com/jcjohnss Follow Ben Mildenhall on X: https://twitter.com/BenMildenhall Follow Martin Casado on X: https://twitter.com/martin_casado Learn more about Atlas: https://www.worldlabs.ai/blog/atlas Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: / a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: / a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RD… to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast… Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Researchers tune into Arctic under-ice sounds and test through-ice communication

Beneath the Arctic Ocean is an orchestra featuring natural and human composers, from cracking sea ice and whistling beluga whales to humming shipping-vessel engines. Researchers from MIT Lincoln Laboratory heard some of this cacophony when analyzing data from commercial off-the-shelf sensors that they integrated and deployed in 2024 during the U.S. Navy’s Operation Ice Camp (OIC). This past March, during OIC 2026, the researchers returned to the Arctic with a higher-fidelity version of one of the sensors, a geophone that detects vibrations in the sea ice.

“We’re interested in things that make sound underneath the ice,” says Ben Evans, a researcher in the laboratory’s Advanced Undersea Systems and Technology Group. “For example, our OIC 2024 data contained marine mammal songs. We need a better understanding of how such signals propagate through ice and how to distinguish these signals from other sources.”

This underwater soundscape is shifting as sheets of Arctic sea ice rapidly break and melt, opening previously impassable maritime routes for military and commercial activity. Determining the unique sound profiles, or acoustic signatures, produced by fracturing ice will enable researchers to develop predictive capabilities that can build coastal community resilience, inform geopolitical strategy and surveil adversary Arctic activity.

Targeting Tumor ‘Softness’ Enhances Immunotherapy

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) developed a novel tool in which they can detect ‘softness’ of a tumor and help inform therapeutic outcomes. The physical attributes of tumors, particularly hardness, is a persistent obstacle for cancer immunotherapy. Historically, firmness of most solid tumors correlates with the penetration of therapy and could lead to drug resistance. Scientists that developed this technology recently published their findings in Nature Biomedical Engineering. The team, led by Dr. Yingxiao Wang, details how the softness of tumors can allow them to adapt and evade the immune system and treatment. This finding is contradictory from what previous articles in the field have stated.

Wang is the Dwight C. and Hildagarde E. Baum Chair in Biomedical Engineering and Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Molecular Microbiology & Immunology in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and associated with the Keck School of Medicine. Collaborations with the Wang Lab developed a way to target soft stem-like cancer cells, which are extremely hard to treat. Cancer stem-cells are key drivers of tumor growth, drug resistance, and immune evasion. These cells are a major topic of interest in the Wang Lab. Wang and his team also focus their research on techniques to detect biomarkers and visualize molecular events in cells. These investigations could lead to optimal treatment delivery to the tumor site and enhancement of immunotherapy.

Researchers are using an immunotherapy known as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)- T cells, which programs T cells to specifically target the tumor. T cells are specialized immune cells tasked with identifying and eliminating disease. They are a critical component of the immune system and correlate to survival. However, in the context of cancer, they become inert and less active due to tumor-secreting molecules and proteins that dysregulate their function. As a result, scientists in the field of immuno-oncology (IO) have focused on these cells to overcome therapeutic resistance. To generate CAR-T cells, scientists take T cells from a patient and engineer them to redirect the immune response toward the tumor. The CAR-T cells are then able to identify specific proteins on the tumor, which reduce off-target cell death and limit toxicity. Unfortunately, CAR-T cells are less effective against solid tumors.

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