‘Starwashing’: How space companies use the greenwashing playbook while causing environmental damage

From launchpads to low Earth orbit and beyond, space companies and their affiliates are deploying a familiar marketing tactic—with a new twist. In a space economy projected to reach US$1.8 trillion by 2035, they sell space exploration narratives by appealing to a desire to expand humankind beyond Earth—while downplaying or omitting the negative repercussions for Earth and the space environment. Welcome to the age of starwashing.

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Airborne observatory improves views of solar corona during cloud-covered eclipse

Using unique equipment installed on NASA’s WB-57 aircraft flying above heavy clouds off the coast of Iceland, a Southwest Research Institute-led team successfully observed a total solar eclipse on Wednesday. The high-altitude jet followed the moon’s shadow at 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) to take measurements of the solar corona in nine different wavelengths, ranging from visible to infrared light.

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Cell biochemistry beyond membranes: Condensate physics reveals general rules for chemical responses

Basic biology courses teach that cells contain organelles—such as the nucleus, mitochondria and Golgi apparatus—set apart by lipid membranes to get things done. Recent cell biology research has revealed another organizational principle at work in cells across all orders of biology.

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Bound gravitational waves inspired by photonic systems

When one mentions “waves,” we immediately think of a perturbation that propagates. This applies to waves on the shore, sound waves in the air or electromagnetic waves that we use to transmit information via optical fibers. The same idea of propagating perturbations applies to gravitational waves (GWs), which entered the mainstream media a decade ago after their first direct detection. These are perturbations of the elastic fabric that we are all embedded in, called spacetime.

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Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO

Mangione admitted in court that he stalked, shot and killed CEO Brian Thompson; prosecutors plan to seek a life prison term

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Constipation is common in astronauts—blood tests provide new answers

For astronauts in space, constipation is a well-known problem. But why this happens has long been unclear. Now, a new study from the University of Copenhagen in collaboration with NASA provides an idea of what happens in the stomach without the influence of gravity.

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Mysterious Cygnus Bubble may trace back to microquasar, astronomers suggest

Astronomers have proposed a new explanation for the mysterious Cygnus Bubble, a vast cloud of ultra-high-energy gamma rays stretching thousands of light-years across the sky. While the bubble has generally been linked to the Cygnus X star-forming region, the new study argues that a microquasar more naturally explains its highest-energy emission. The results were published in a paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on July 21.

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Controlling the rotation direction of light without complex new materials

A new pathway has opened for controlling the rotation direction of light simply by changing how molecules are arranged, without having to synthesize complex new materials. Circularly polarized light is a special form of light that travels while rotating like a pinwheel to the left or right. Because different rotation directions can carry different information, it is drawing attention as a key light source for next-generation displays, optical communications and security technologies.

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BWC: Ky. response team uses armored SUV to bring deputies, civilian under fire to safety

The deputies and civilian were pinned down for several hours until state police’s Special Response Team rescued them with the help of an armored Chevrolet Suburban High Country

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Flock Safety sets 7-day default for ALPR data, adds mandatory misuse safeguards

CEO Garrett Langley says the changes are intended to address demands for stronger privacy protections, accountability and transparency

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DOJ settles suit with LASD over alleged ‘unconscionable delays’ in granting gun permits

In response to the suit, the LASD “drastically cut those waiting times and is now in compliance with statutory deadlines,” the DOJ stated

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Tiny satellite will use the dark side of the moon to eavesdrop on whispers from the early universe

A tiny UK-developed satellite, roughly the size of a small carry-on suitcase, could help answer one of the biggest questions in cosmology: What happened during the roughly 150 million years of the cosmic dark ages, before the universe’s first stars appeared?

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NYPD officer becomes first convicted under state law banning chokeholds

Omar Habib was convicted of the misdemeanor established in the law, along with felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault, and is facing up to seven years in prison

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New AI model detects hidden signs of solar eruptions hours before they emerge

Long before dark sunspots appear on the sun’s surface, a new active region—where powerful solar eruptions can originate—begins showing subtle signs of its formation. Now, researchers say a new artificial intelligence model can detect those early signals and forecast the emergence of solar active regions nearly nine hours in advance on average.

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Theoretical framework expands directional light control beyond ordered crystal structures

A research team has developed a new theoretical framework that can suppress light scattering in certain directions while enhancing it in others, even in irregularly arranged materials. The work extends research on controlling light scattering, which has traditionally centered on ordered crystal structures, into the realm of disordered systems.

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