What if the universe wasn’t the beginning? Long before the Big Bang, before the first stars ignited, and before time even had a direction, there were entities already lurking in the void.
Tonight, we’re diving into 20 beings that existed before the universe itself. From cosmic architects who engineered life in the stars to \.
AI may learn better when it’s allowed to talk to itself. Researchers showed that internal “mumbling,” combined with short-term memory, helps AI adapt to new tasks, switch goals, and handle complex challenges more easily. This approach boosts learning efficiency while using far less training data. It could pave the way for more flexible, human-like AI systems.
“Two things can happen: Either the planet gets very, very close to the binary, suffering tidal disruption or being engulfed by one of the stars, or its orbit gets significantly perturbed by the binary to be eventually ejected from the system,” said Dr. Mohammad Farhat.
Why is it so rare to find exoplanets orbiting two stars, also called circumbinary planets (CBPs)? This is what a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated the celestial processes responsible for the formation and evolution of CBPs. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand solar system and planetary formation and evolution, which could narrow the search for life beyond Earth.
For the study, the researchers used a combination of computer models and Einstein’s theory of relativity to simulate the formation and evolution of CBPs. For example, the researchers explored the interaction between the CBP and its binary star, resulting in one of three outcomes: stable orbit, ejection, or consumption by the binary star. The reason Einstein’s theory of relativity was used as part of the study was because it calls for objects to have their orbit perturbed the closer they orbit to a larger object, like a star.
A common example that’s used for the theory is of a trampoline with objects falling inward when a large body is in the middle of it. Essentially, stars have “instability zones” where planets get consumed if they orbit too close. In the case of CBPs, the astronomers found that of the 14 known CBPs out of more than 6,000 confirmed exoplanets, 12 orbit just beyond the instability zone and none of the 14 have orbits less than seven days. The researchers concluded that a common phenomenon in astronomy called the three-body problem is responsible for the lack of CBPs.
In Science last year, researchers presented a method to safely and preferentially generate CAR T cells directly inside the body using targeted lipid nanoparticles that deliver mRNA directly to T cells.
The approach showed rapid and sustained immune reprogramming in preclinical models, highlighting its promise for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Learn more on WorldCancerDay.
Lipid nanoparticles are designed to generate therapeutic T cells inside living animal models.
Vivek Peche and Stephen Gottschalk Authors Info & Affiliations
Science
Platelets are cell fragments that plug leaks in blood vessels, preventing bleeding. However, they also form clots that impede blood flow (thrombosis) and increase inflammation.
Activated platelets, which can bind to each other, and hyporesponsive platelets, which do not form clots, are detected in patients with acute severe infections, such as COVID-19 and sepsis. How to uncouple the protective and harmful proinflammatory functions of platelets is a therapeutic dilemma.
In Science, researchers report the formation of platelet-derived integrin-and tetraspanin-enriched tethers (PITTs) in patients with severe infections.
PITTs, which are enriched in specific platelet proteins, remain anchored to the blood vessel wall (endothelium) and promote neutrophil recruitment, inflammation, and tissue damage, whereas the main platelet body shears off and reenters circulation in a hyporesponsive state. PITTs may contribute to blood clotting, immune dysregulation, and bleeding complications that characterize severe infections.
Learn more in a new Science Perspective.
Platelet-derived structures in blood vessel walls increase inflammation and bleeding risk.
Artificial Neural Networks work like the human brain using neurons→nodes, synapses→connections, enabling machines to learn, adapt and recognize patterns with…
Among patients with Stroke and PatentForamenOvale, the PASCAL classification system identified those likely to benefit from closure and those at risk of increased atrial fibrillation.
Question Among young and middle-aged individuals (ages 18–60 years) with patent foramen ovale (PFO) and otherwise cryptogenic ischemic stroke enrolled in pivotal trials, can the PASCAL classification system identify those who will experience net benefit and those who will experience net harm from PFO closure in the next 5 years?
Finding This meta-analysis showed that in the PASCAL groups probable and possible, PFO closure reduced recurrent ischemic stroke more often than it caused atrial fibrillation, but in the unlikely group, closure did not reduce stroke and caused a larger amount of atrial fibrillation.
Meaning The PASCAL classification system may identify as many as 4 of 5 patients who will experience net benefit and 1 of 5 who will experience net harm from PFO closure.