AI-Designed Universal Coronavirus Vaccine Passes First Human Trial

AI-designed universal coronavirus vaccine succeeds in first human trial Phase 1 results showed the DNA-based vaccine, whose core antigen was created by machine learning, is safe and triggers immune responses against multiple sarbecoviruses including SARS-CoV-2 and bat coronaviruses with pandemic potential. 1

Chicxulub impact sparked global firestorm that incinerated the dinosaurs New simulations reveal the asteroid strike 66 million years ago vaporized far more rock than thought; trillions of tonnes of material re-entered the atmosphere, creating planet-wide heat that broiled life on land. 2

Clearest image yet captures Betelgeuse's elusive companion star The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope obtained the sharpest image of Betelgeuse B, a star roughly two to three times the Sun's mass, confirming a companion long suspected to orbit the red supergiant. 345

First confirmed off-center supermassive black hole shreds a star Astronomers identified a tidal disruption event from a black hole wandering outside its galaxy's core, 750 million light-years away, spotted by the Zwicky Transient Facility and confirmed by NASA telescopes. 67

Twenty-year-old quantum entanglement theory finally proven experimentally Physicists at ISTA and the Technical University of Munich used a 'quantum bath' of light particles to entangle isolated qubits, validating a long-standing theory and providing a way to scale up quantum computing. 8

AI helps redesign Botox enzyme to target devastating diseases David Liu's team used an AI model to stabilize the Botox enzyme, creating a resilient starting point for directed evolution that precisely snips proteins linked to neurodegeneration like ALS. 9

Largest genetic study reveals fibromyalgia is a neurological disorder The Fred Hutch-led study, the largest of its kind, identified specific genetic factors that strongly suggest the chronic pain condition originates in the nervous system, opening the door to new treatments. 10

Memristor chip achieves brain-like speed for complex modeling A Chinese-developed chip using phase-change memristors performs neural dynamics calculations in under 10 milliseconds, rivaling biological processing speeds for potential brain-computer interfaces. 11

'Demon' quasiparticle predicted in 1956 detected for first time Physicists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign confirmed the existence of Pines' demon, a massless, electrically neutral quasiparticle, inside the exotic metal strontium ruthenate. 12

Cold radioactive molecules offer new path to fundamental physics Scientists produced and trapped radioactive molecules, creating a tabletop method to study fundamental symmetries and search for physics beyond the Standard Model. 13

New nanoparticle weaponizes cancer cells against themselves KAIST researchers developed a helical polypeptide nanoparticle that triggers immunogenic cell death in cancer cells while simultaneously delivering gene therapy, combining two treatment strategies. 14

Quantum heat engine produces work and cooling simultaneously Researchers demonstrated a quantum engine that absorbs heat from a cold reservoir, performing both mechanical work and refrigeration in the same thermodynamic cycle. 15

Laser beams generate electric current in semiconductor without voltage University of Michigan researchers used two colors of light to steer electrons through a semiconductor in a chosen direction without any applied electrical field, demonstrating a new physical effect. 16

Waste carbon dioxide and glycerol turned into green chemicals in minutes IIT Indore researchers used a ruthenium catalyst and microwave heating to convert CO₂ derivatives and biodiesel waste into lactic and formic acid in just seven minutes at mild temperatures. 17

Nanoreactor mimics cells to supercharge artificial photosynthesis A biomimetic CdS@polydopamine nanoreactor uses a proton relay and confined cavity to efficiently produce hydrogen peroxide from water and oxygen under visible light. 18