Saturday, July 18, 2026

Astronomers have found strong evidence that a Sun-like star about 1,300 light-years from Earth devoured one of its own planets, leaving behind an unusually high concentration of lithium that served as a chemical fingerprint of the event.^[1]

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed that the lava planet 55 Cancri e likely has a hydrogen-rich atmosphere shaped by gases escaping from its molten interior, with signs that volcanic outgassing may even create temporary clouds.^[2]

Researchers have created self-destructing "living plastic" embedded with engineered bacteria that completely breaks itself down when activated, degrading in just six days without leaving microplastics behind.^[3]

China launched a 29-nation coalition called the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) at a summit in Shanghai, with President Xi Jinping calling for international cooperation on AI development and urging that no single country dominate the technology.^[4]

Four nearby white dwarf stars have been discovered hiding beside brighter red dwarf companions, with Hubble's ultraviolet observations revealing the long-hidden stellar remnants, including one just 25 light-years from Earth that took nearly three decades to confirm.^[5]

Scientists discovered that the ancient sea worm Perinereis cultrifera has jaws made of proteins and metal ions that combine to produce metal-like strength, representing a new category of natural "bio-metal" materials that could inspire future materials science.^[6]

A large laboratory study from Cambridge University found that many commonly used sweeteners can directly change the growth of gut bacteria, with researchers identifying more than 100 cases where sweeteners behaved differently when combined with medications, caffeine, or flavorings.^[7]

NASA's Perseverance rover completed the equivalent of a full marathon (26.2 miles) on Mars in five years and four months, less than half the time it took the previous record holder, the Opportunity rover.^[8]

Scientists have identified a hidden feedback loop that may explain how Earth has regulated its climate for tens of millions of years, finding that as sea levels rose and fell, they changed how much phosphate reached the open ocean, affecting marine life and the planet's carbon cycle.^[9]

A drug originally developed for spinal cord injury may offer a new approach to treating Alzheimer's disease; in mouse studies, KCL-286 repaired dangerous DNA damage, reduced brain inflammation, and targeted multiple disease-related pathways.^[10]