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Deep biosphere has endured mountain-building and erosion over hundreds of millions of years

A new study reveals that microbial life deep within Earth has persisted and repeatedly flourished through hundreds of millions of years of mountain-building and erosion. By analyzing minerals, fluids and gases from a 2.3-kilometer-deep (1.4-mile-deep) borehole in central Sweden, researchers have uncovered episodic bursts of methane-producing life linked to major geological events that shaped Scandinavia. The paper is published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

The deep continental subsurface is one of Earth’s least explored ecosystems. Yet it hosts microbial communities capable of ancient metabolisms such as methanogenesis—the production of methane by microorganisms. Now, an international research team led by scientists at Linnaeus University has reconstructed an unprecedented long-term history of these deep biosphere processes.

Stripped-down LSD reveals structural features linked to hallucinogenic and therapeutic effects

University of California, Davis, researchers have stripped down LSD to the base features responsible for its hallucinogenic and therapeutic effects.

In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers whittled away at LSD’s core multiring structure and synthesized new, simplified versions to probe its functionality. The researchers developed several compounds with reduced hallucinogenic and cardiotoxic effects while identifying one compound that produced antipsychotic-like effects.

“By systematically deconstructing LSD, we have identified simplified cores that are better starting points for medicinal chemistry efforts,” said study corresponding author David E. Olson, director of the Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics and a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and molecular medicine at UC Davis.

Slender crystal’s blue-to-yellow glow could make invisible forces visible

Applying pressure to luminescent organic crystals usually brings molecules closer together and weakens their fluorescence. Materials that instead brighten and undergo a large color change are rare, and clear design principles for achieving both responses in simple, rigid aromatic hydrocarbons have been lacking.

Researchers at the University of Osaka and collaborators have now found that crystals of a uniformly slender aromatic hydrocarbon become brighter under pressure while changing their fluorescence from light blue to yellow. Its emission-wavelength sensitivity was the highest reported for a molecular material to date.

The work is published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C.

Reversible electric control unlocks persistent chiral phonon states

Atoms in a material are rarely still. They jiggle back and forth in collective lattice vibrations known as phonons. Their motion can also carry a rotational element: In 2023, scientists at PSI experimentally proved the existence of chiral phonons, which exhibit handedness depending on which way they rotate.

Now, the same team of researchers has shown that an applied electric field can control the handedness of these phonons. The research is published in the journal Nature Materials.

Dark plasma regions reveal overlooked source of reactive atomic oxygen

Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have found a way to make plasma more effective for its wide-ranging uses, from antimicrobial applications to surface conditioning in the semiconductor industry. They mapped the production of atomic oxygen, a key ingredient of oxygen plasma, while a high voltage was applied across oxygen gas.

They discovered that the amount of atomic oxygen available for reactions increased at pressures moderately lower than atmospheric pressure. Their findings promise more energy-efficient, higher-performance plasma technologies.

Plasma is often called the fourth state of matter, alongside gas, liquid and solid. Made of charged atoms and electrons, plasma makes up an estimated 99.9% of all matter in the universe. Although it is rarely encountered on Earth except during lightning storms, artificial plasmas can be generated by applying high electrical voltages across gases, creating so-called nonthermal plasmas. In these plasmas, only the electrons are driven to a high temperature, leaving the atoms in a highly reactive “radical” state.

New model measures economic risks solar storms pose to US power grid

In 1967, a solar storm nearly triggered World War III by jamming early-warning radar systems in the United States, causing U.S. leaders to think the Soviet Union was responsible. Though society averted catastrophe thanks to timely information from solar forecasters, the threat from space weather remains real.

Solar, or geomagnetic, storms form as the sun expels plasma and magnetic fields from its corona during coronal mass ejections. After traversing space and encountering Earth’s magnetic field, the energy can interact with conducting materials such as the crust or ocean and induce geoelectric fields. The currents destabilize electrical transmission as they flow through extrahigh-voltage transformers that regulate voltage in the grid.

Yet despite their potential for havoc, geomagnetic storms are an underquantified threat. Existing socioeconomic assessments of space weather are often siloed by discipline and overlook the relationship between geophysical drivers and the function of the power grid.

Tiny polymer particles keep water jets stable for longer

Tiny, soft polymer particles—known as microgels—can help to stabilize extremely thin liquid jets. How this works is the finding of a study led by researchers at TU Darmstadt, which has been published in Nature Communications. The findings could be of interest for the development of needle-free medical injection systems.

Microgels are soft polymer particles less than one micrometer in size. They can adsorb at the interface between air and water, where they reduce the surface tension of the liquid. In this respect, their effect is similar to that of conventional surface-active components—so-called surfactants—such as those often found in soap, dishwashing liquid or detergent. However, unlike many conventional surfactants, the microgels used in the study are nontoxic, and their interaction mechanism with the liquid differs significantly.

For their experiments, the scientists generated extremely thin jets of water using surface acoustic waves. A drop of water containing the microgels was used for this purpose. A specially manufactured chip generated the waves at a frequency of around 64 MHz, producing a liquid jet approximately 200 micrometers in diameter from the drop. A high-speed camera recorded the jet formation and extension.

Levitated magnet opens new frontier in search for ultraheavy dark matter

Rice University researchers have used a magnetically levitated particle to search for ultraheavy dark matter, extending the hunt for some of the heaviest possible forms of the invisible matter thought to hold galaxies together. Led by Christopher Tunnell, associate professor of physics and astronomy, the researchers used a tiny floating magnet as a highly sensitive detector designed to register the faint push an ultraheavy dark matter particle could produce as it passed through.

Dark matter plays a fundamental role in the structure of the universe, influencing the formation and stability of galaxies such as the Milky Way. However, scientists have yet to determine its composition. Understanding what dark matter is made of could enhance knowledge of how galaxies formed and evolved.

Most dark matter experiments focus on particles with masses similar to those of atoms, but some theories propose that the particles might be significantly heavier, potentially reaching the mass of a living cell. This Rice-led research demonstrates how a floating magnet can broaden the search to include these heavier candidates. The findings were released at the 2026 International Conference on Particle Physics and Cosmology.

Could Alien Life Be Conscious in Ways We Can’t Imagine?

A provocative new paper suggests consciousness may not be unique to Earth and could arise in alien life forms far stranger than we can imagine.

A new philosophical paper argues that consciousness may not be exclusive to life as we know it. According to Eric Schwitzgebel, a distinguished professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside, there is little reason to think conscious experience depends specifically on flesh, blood, or the biology found on Earth.

Instead, Schwitzgebel and Jeremy Pober, a former UCR graduate student who is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Lisbon, propose that consciousness could emerge in life forms built from very different materials. Imagine the five-limbed, rock-skinned alien featured in the recent hit movie Project Hail Mary. The authors argue that such a possibility should not be dismissed simply because it differs radically from life on Earth.

Scientists May Have Finally Explained Why Astronauts Get Constipated in Space

Many things change in space, including how the intestines function. Constipation is a known side effect of space travel, but until now, little has been known about why it happens.

Constipation is a familiar problem for astronauts, but the biological reason it develops during spaceflight has remained uncertain.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen working with NASA have now found evidence of what may change in the digestive system when gravity disappears. They analyzed blood samples from 52 astronauts who spent months aboard the International Space Station and detected gastrointestinal changes that appeared within weeks of leaving Earth.

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