Science & Earth

A UCLA study in mice found that aging muscle stem cells accumulate the protein NDRG1, which slows their activation and delays repair but enhances cell survival; blocking NDRG1 restored rapid repair yet reduced long-term stem cell survival.

Doug Parkinson is NASA's Launch Integration and Mission Operations lead for the Space Launch System and oversees the team that monitors the rocket during testing, pre-launch, and launch; he joined Marshall Space Flight Center in 1999 and moved to the SLS program in 2012.

A coastal low may develop off the Carolinas this weekend while Arctic air keeps temperatures below freezing across much of the eastern U.S., and winter storm watches are in place for parts of the Carolinas and Virginia.

Artemis II will fly as an engineering mission to test Orion and related systems, and Artemis III is officially slated to land astronauts on the Moon by 2028 but faces delays because the dedicated lunar lander has not yet been completed.

JWST observations support the idea that some of the universe's earliest supermassive black holes formed by direct collapse of massive gas clouds rather than growing only from smaller stellar remnants.

Washington, D.C., has fallen into single-digit and below-zero temperatures and could see a run of freezing days lasting into early February; the National Weather Service has issued cold-weather advisories and expects more this week.

Whale watching in California offers seasonal sightings from San Diego to the Bay Area, including winter gray whale migrations and summer blue whale feeding; researchers report gray whale numbers have fallen sharply and recent December counts were unusually low.

H&M reports a drop in supplier coal use and says a Vietnamese factory, Bangjie, will reach a carbon intensity score of zero once a new heat pump replaces diesel backup in April.

A study in south-eastern Germany found that applying lynx and wolf scents to sapling plots reduced deer visits and browsing, with lynx scent showing the strongest effect.

Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks reports about 109,000 pounds of Asian carp were removed from the Kansas River between 2022 and 2025, with 2025 the highest year at 36,863 pounds.

A severe ice storm left more than 400,000 customers without power across Mississippi and Tennessee, and utilities say full restoration may take several more days.

Scientists report nearly 100 new animal species from a small quarry in Hunan, China, including soft-bodied fossils dated about 512 million years that lived after the Sinsk mass extinction.

Data from Juno's 2022 flyby and its Microwave Radiometer indicate the outer, rigid layer of Europa's ice shell is about 18 miles (29 km) thick in the surveyed region, and small near-surface scatterers such as cracks and pores were detected.

A stream of fast-moving solar wind from a coronal hole is expected to reach Earth on Jan. 28, and forecasters report possible minor geomagnetic storm activity that could make the northern lights visible after dark in higher-latitude areas.

A Hague court ordered the Dutch government to produce a plan to protect residents of Bonaire from climate impacts and found the government had not taken timely measures. The court also required binding greenhouse gas emissions targets to be set in law within 18 months.

The Scenic Eclipse II became stuck in pack ice in the Ross Sea and contacted the USCGC Polar Star; the icebreaker made multiple passes to break up the ice and free the vessel, and there were no reported injuries.

The article reports NASA's Artemis II will send four astronauts around the moon soon and says Artemis III aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface in 2028, which the piece notes would be ahead of China's projected timeline.

Researchers have documented 21 North Atlantic right whale calves this calving season, while a 2024 estimate put the species' population at 384, keeping the animals at continued risk.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced the Doomsday Clock has been set to 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been, and cited nuclear tensions, climate change, biological threats and artificial intelligence as drivers of the move.

Gladys West, a mathematician whose modeling of the Earth's shape helped form the mathematical framework used by GPS, died Jan. 17 at her home in Fredericksburg, Va., at age 95.

Northern Ireland Electricity says all homes that lost power during Storm Chandra have been reconnected, and a yellow ice warning is in force until 10:00 GMT.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced on Jan. 27 that the Doomsday Clock is set at 85 seconds to midnight, four seconds closer than last year and the nearest reading since 1947.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock forward four seconds to 85 seconds to midnight, the closest setting in its 80-year history. The board cited nuclear arms control, climate change, AI, biological risks and misinformation, and highlighted the February expiration of the U.S.-Russia New START treaty as a key factor.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has set the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight, its closest setting on record, citing nuclear escalation, accelerating climate change, and rapidly deployed, largely unregulated technologies such as artificial intelligence and so‑called “mirror life.” The Clock is reviewed and updated by the Bulletin on an annual basis.

Researchers used machine learning and lab experiments to identify interacting gene pairs — including TTN, CCDC141 and IGF1R — that are associated with cardiac hypertrophy, and they tested effects in lab-grown heart cells.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced on January 27, 2026 that the Doomsday Clock is set at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest setting on record.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest setting since 1947. The group cited rising risks from nuclear weapons, climate change and disruptive technologies including artificial intelligence.

Data from NASA's Juno Microwave Radiometer show Europa's ice shell averages about 18 miles (29 km) thick in the region observed during a Sept. 29, 2022 flyby, and reveal small near-surface irregularities extending to depths of hundreds of feet.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock forward by four seconds to 85 seconds to midnight for 2026, reporting growing risks from nuclear weapons, climate change, artificial intelligence, autocracy and biological threats. Undetermined at this time.

On Jan. 27 a 76%-lit waxing gibbous moon will sit less than 5 degrees to the right of the Pleiades star cluster, which is about 440 light-years from Earth.