An international team led by researchers in Japan and Europe has discovered a new multi-planet system around a Sun-like star, including an ultra-short period planet with one of the highest densities ever measured. The findings, published in Nature Scientific Reports on 8 November, shed new light on the formation and evolution of planets in extreme environments. The newly discovered system, named K2-360, is located approximately 750 light-years from Earth. It consists of two planets orbiting a star similar to our Sun.

The Arab Global Scholars (AGS) community gathered in Doha, Qatar last week to herald the latest evolution of an initiative nurturing a contemporary renaissance of Arab science and research. An initiative led by Qatar Foundation, AGS aims to reconnect scholars and intellectuals with roots in the Arab world back to their region to contribute to its positive development and long-term future. The AGS digital platform, an immersive and interactive space that links members to a wealth of collaborative opportunities, was also introduced.

A recently published study in Science challenges theories regarding the origins of a significant transition through the Earth’s ice ages. Led by an international team of researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Cardiff University, this research provides fresh insights into the ocean’s role in climate during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, an enigmatic interval of change in climate cycles that began about one million years ago.

Microorganisms cultured in a liquid medium are usually subjected to shaking to provide the oxygen necessary for their growth. However, this creates physical or shear stress on the microbes. Researchers from Japan have now developed a “static” culturing method that uses a gas-permeable polymer to culture bacteria without the need for shaking. This innovative approach saves valuable space, energy, and resources in microbiology research.

On Sept. 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene slammed into the Gulf Coast of Florida, inducing storm surges and widespread impacts on communities in its path. At the same time, NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment, or AWE, recorded enormous swells in the atmosphere that the hurricane produced roughly 55 miles above the ground.