The European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter mission has split the flood of energetic particles flung out into space from the Sun into two groups, tracing each back to a different kind of outburst from our star.

Prof Heidi Newberg is an astrophysicist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her research focuses primarily on understanding the structure of our own galaxy through using stars. In a newly published Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences article, she and her co-authors lay out the case that a telescope with a rectangular mirror, rather than a roughly circular one as is used in traditional telescopes, could provide a clearer path to discovering habitable worlds. In the following guest editorial, she highlights the feasibility and advantages of this design.

Middle-ear effusion (MEE)—fluid trapped behind the eardrum—can quietly erode hearing, often without pain or fever. In a breakthrough simulation study, researchers used a finely tuned finite element (FE) model of the human ear to mimic six levels of MEE, from barely present to completely filling the cavity. The results reveal a tipping point: when fluid occupies less than half the middle ear space, hearing loss is minimal, averaging about 3 dB. But once it passes the 50% mark, sound transmission plummets, energy absorbance (EA) rates collapse below 20%, and hearing loss can soar to nearly 46 dB. This “fluid threshold” could sharpen diagnostic accuracy and guide timely treatment.

A study led by Jenny Frediani at Stockholm University has revealed a planet-forming disk with a strikingly unusual chemical composition: an unexpectedly high abundance of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in regions where Earth-like planets may one day form. The discovery, made using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), challenges long-standing assumptions about the chemistry of planetary birthplaces. The study is published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

A landmark review traces 40 years of changes in pelagic sargassum – free-floating brown seaweed that plays a vital role in the Atlantic Ocean ecosystem. The review takes a deep dive into the changing story of sargassum – how it’s growing, what’s fueling that growth, and why we’re seeing such a dramatic increase in biomass across the North Atlantic. By examining shifts in its nutrient composition – particularly nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon – and how those elements vary over time and space, we’re beginning to understand the larger environmental forces at play.