Science & Earth

Crew 12 — Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot and Andrey Fedyaev — are scheduled to launch Wednesday to the International Space Station and will restore the station's crew to seven after an early Crew 11 return for a medical issue.

Crew 12 — Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot and Andrey Fedyaev — are scheduled to launch Wednesday on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral to replace Crew 11 after an early return for a medical issue, with docking expected Thursday; the flight was moved up after NASA delayed Artemis II.

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory completed its 25-year run with a final set of collisions, and the lab plans to reuse part of RHIC's infrastructure to build an Electron-Ion Collider over the next decade.

A five-story round-up from Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset, Berkshire and Oxfordshire highlights vehicle damage to a rare chalk stream and reported sewer discharges into a Dorset stream.

Arctic blasts and heavy snow affected more than 30 U.S. states in late January and early February and were linked to over 120 deaths, while numerous daily low-temperature records were broken. Scientists report ongoing uncertainty about how rapid Arctic warming and sea ice loss influence the jet stream and outbreaks of frigid air.

The Old Farmer's Almanac highlights several easily visible sky events across North America this year, including a total lunar eclipse on March 3 and notable meteor showers in August and December.

Curiosity used a solvent called TMAH to treat a powdered rock sample from the Nevado Sajama site to search for carbon-based molecules; two of three phases of the redesigned three-stage experiment have been run and scientists say results will take months to interpret.

Record winter cold left more than 500 sea turtles cold-stunned and in care at Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory, and local agencies arranged shelter for unhoused neighbors; Bad Bunny won Album of the Year and urged love over hate in his acceptance speech.

The FAA approved SpaceX's Falcon 9 to resume flights after an upper-stage issue, and NASA's Crew-12 launch is scheduled for Feb. 11 from Cape Canaveral.

NASA will stream live coverage of prelaunch, launch and docking for the SpaceX Crew-12 mission; liftoff is targeted no earlier than 6:01 a.m. EST on Feb. 11 and docking is targeted for about 10:30 a.m. EST on Feb. 12.

Episode 410 of NASA Johnson Space Center’s podcast features the four members of Crew-12 describing their backgrounds, training and plans to join Expedition 74 and 75 on the International Space Station; interviews were recorded November 2025 through January 2026.

Stanford researchers published the first global map of continental mantle earthquakes in Science, showing regional clusters such as the Himalayas and the Bering Strait.

A University of Sydney doctoral student reproduced cosmic dust in a lab by running nitrogen, carbon dioxide and acetylene through a glow-discharge plasma; the few milligrams of nanoparticles were collected on silicon wafers and the results were published in The Astrophysical Journal.

NASA says the SpaceX Crew-12 mission, led by Commander Jessica Meir, could launch as soon as 6 a.m. ET on Feb. 11 from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral.

Forecasters say light, 'nuisance' rain may begin Sunday evening in the Bay Area after a month without notable precipitation, and the National Weather Service predicts a shift toward a wetter pattern by mid-February.

Researchers who tracked Geoffroy's spider monkeys in Mexico's Yucatan from 2012 to 2017 found that individuals move between small subgroups in a fission‑fusion system, carrying foraging experience with them so information about where and when fruit ripens spreads through the population.

Researchers report an implantable "living" artificial pancreas that houses insulin-producing cells inside a protective crystalline shield and maintained glucose control in tests on mice and non-human primates.

Researchers engineered an antibody that binds a bacterial sugar called pseudaminic acid and cleared a normally fatal multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infection in mice; the team plans to develop antibody treatments for clinical use over the next five years.

Researchers recreated perfumes from 3,500-year-old Egyptian balm using chemical analyses and interdisciplinary expertise, and museums in Germany and Denmark now offer scented cards and a scent station alongside mummy displays.

An international team developed the microfluidic Axialtrode (mAxialtrode), a flexible fiber thinner than a sewing needle that combines light delivery, electrical recording and microfluidic drug channels in one device. In tests on mice the implant stimulated neurons with blue and red light, recorded activity in cortex and hippocampus, and delivered substances at different depths up to about 2.7 millimeters apart.

A PLOS Biology study found that sleeping newborns showed brain responses of 'surprise' when musical rhythms changed, indicating rhythmic predictions in infants only days old. The same study did not find evidence of melodic expectation, and it did not test effects of musical exposure or later developmental outcomes.

A study published in Science Advances estimates wildfire smoke could account for up to about 24,100 U.S. deaths per year, based on satellite exposure and mortality data from 2006–2020. Researchers report roughly 5,594 additional deaths for each 0.1 µg/m3 annual increase in wildfire-related fine particle pollution.

A study published in Science reports that Kanzi, a bonobo who understood English, tracked imaginary juice and grapes during controlled tests, indicating he could follow human-created pretend scenarios.

State, tribal and university researchers will collar up to 43 moose in the western Upper Peninsula this month as part of a study into factors behind a roughly 30% drop in survey counts since 2023.

NASA will conduct a wet dress rehearsal and simulated launch for Artemis II as early as Jan. 31, and the crewed mission could launch around Feb. 6 to carry four astronauts on a lunar flyby.

The Ohio EPA has distributed $4.3 million in H2Ohio chloride reduction grants since 2023 and announced $1.5 million more to be awarded across two funding rounds, with applications due Friday.

NASA announced that astronauts may carry current-model smartphones beginning with Crew-12 and Artemis II, saying modern hardware was qualified on an expedited timeline. Artemis II remains tentatively scheduled after a wet dress rehearsal uncovered a liquid hydrogen leak that paused countdown procedures.

Malaysia announced an immediate, full ban on electronic waste imports and reclassified all e‑waste as an "absolute prohibition," removing prior exemptions. Authorities say the move comes alongside a widening corruption inquiry into e‑waste oversight that has led to detentions and asset freezes.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has published the Draft National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) 2026 for public comment, with the consultation open until mid-February 2026; the draft emphasises waste minimisation, circular economy principles and supports extended producer responsibility within existing law.

A study published Feb. 4 in Communications Biology reports that the Deep Maniot community at the southern tip of Greece has been genetically isolated for roughly 1,400 years and retains ancient paternal lineages linked to Bronze Age and Roman-period Greek-speaking populations.