BETHESDA, MD – As space agencies prepare for human missions to the Moon and Mars, scientists need to understand how the absence of gravity affects living cells. Now, a team of researchers has built a rugged, affordable microscope that can image cells in real time during the chaotic conditions of zero-gravity flight—and they’re making the design available to the broader scientific community.

Antarctica plays a crucial role in the Earth’s climate system by reflecting solar radiation back into space. The large white ice surfaces and clouds play a decisive role in this process. However, how clouds actually form in Antarctica, how they interact with the atmosphere and what role aerosols play in this process has not been sufficiently researched to date. Engaging in the SANAT flight campaign, the Alfred Wegener Institute, the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research and the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry aim to help close this knowledge gap. The flight-based aerosol measurements conducted in Antarctica are the first of their kind in 20 years and also the first to extend deep into the interior. 

Digital games are often considered to be isolating; however, recent research shows that these games can also foster strong social bonds among players. A study conducted at Doshisha University analyzed a Japanese Discord community built for the competitive game Splatoon 3. The findings revealed that the gaming community also served as a space for social connection, emotional support, and belonging—highlighting the growing social role of online communities in everyday life.

A Northumbria University PhD student has led an international team of astronomers in creating the first-ever three-dimensional map of Uranus's upper atmosphere, revealing how the ice giant's unusual magnetic field shapes spectacular auroras high above the planet's clouds.

Astronomers have long debated why so many icy objects in the outer solar system look like snowmen. Michigan State University researchers now have evidence of the surprisingly simple process that could be responsible for their creation. Jackson Barnes, an MSU graduate student, has created the first simulation that reproduces the two-lobed shape naturally with gravitational collapse. His work is published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Lucciana Mikaela Cáceres Holgado has been chosen as the recipient of the second annual Marian H. Rose Research Scholarship from the Society of Physics Students. The scholarship honors Marian H. Rose, a career plasma physicist, author, and environmental activist, by providing one graduate student with $15,000 in grant funding. Cáceres Holgado currently serves as the vice president for the University of Kansas’ SPS chapter, leads outreach activities with local schools, and enjoys giving back to a group of people who have supported her throughout her college education.