Wednesday, May 27, 2026

SpaceX successfully launched its first Starship V3 megarocket on May 22 from Starbase, Texas, completing the world's most powerful rocket's 12th test flight. The upper stage reached its planned suborbital trajectory and deployed 22 mock satellites before splashing down in the Indian Ocean, though the Super Heavy booster failed to complete its boostback burn and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.^[1]

A major international study found that beta-blockers, routinely prescribed for decades after heart attacks, offer no real benefit for patients who have uncomplicated heart attacks with preserved heart function. The findings, from the REBOOT Trial led by researchers at Mount Sinai and Spain's CNIC, were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.^[2]

Scientists have identified a massive new sea predator, Tylosaurus rex, from fossils found in Texas, revealing a 43-foot-long mosasaur that dominated ancient oceans 80 million years ago. The discovery, one of the biggest mosasaurs ever known, also prompts revisions to previous assumptions about how these marine reptiles evolved.^[3]

Researchers believe they have identified the source of the most energetic neutrino ever detected, which slammed into the Mediterranean Sea in 2023 with 220 petaelectronvolts of energy. A study published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics suggests the particle may have originated from blazars, supermassive black holes that shoot jets of matter toward Earth.^[4]

Astronomers have observed one of the most extreme binary star systems ever documented, where two white dwarfs orbit each other in just 8.5 minutes and one star is actively devouring material from its companion. The system, reported in The Astrophysical Journal, could serve as a future target for gravitational wave detectors.^[5]

A record-breaking May heat wave is sweeping across Western Europe, with the UK recording its hottest May day ever at 35°C and France also posting unprecedented highs. A heat dome of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system is pushing temperatures 12-16°C above seasonal norms, with at least seven deaths reported in France.^[6]

Pope Leo XIV has released a major encyclical focused on artificial intelligence, warning against new forms of hidden exploitation fueling the technology and calling for the "disarming" of AI. The document notes that AI systems rely on workers including content moderators and children mining rare earth elements who are harmed so that computation can continue.^[7]

Iran's national football team will base itself in Mexico during the 2026 FIFA World Cup and travel into the United States only on matchdays, after Mexico agreed to host the team. FIFA confirmed the arrangement following President Trump's statement that Iran was welcome to play but that it was better for them not to stay in the US "for their own life and safety."^[8]

Netflix's animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" won multiple awards at the American Music Awards, with fictional girl group Huntrix taking home song of the year for "Golden," beating Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Olivia Dean. BTS also competed for artist of the year at the ceremony held in Las Vegas.^[9]

Researchers at UC San Francisco found that older adults with vitamin B12 levels considered "normal" by current guidelines may still show signs of neurological strain, including slower thinking and more white matter damage in the brain. The study, published in Annals of Neurology, suggests current B12 guidelines may not be protective enough for aging brains.^[10]