Why NASA Built SLS — And Why It Couldn’t Have Happened Any Other Way.
(https://youtu.be/LRwQqZGascs)
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DNA-protein cross-links promote cGAS-STING–driven premature aging and embryonic lethality
Unrepaired DNA-protein crosslinks—highly toxic tangles of protein and DNA—cause a process that leads to premature aging and embryonic lethality in mice.
The findings in Science reveal a previously unrecognized link between defective DNA repair and immune-driven inflammatory disease.
DNA-protein cross-links (DPCs) are highly toxic DNA lesions that block replication and transcription, but their impact on organismal physiology is unclear. We identified a role for the metalloprotease SPRTN in preventing DPC-driven immunity and its pathological consequences. Loss of SPRTN activity during replication and mitosis lead to unresolved DNA damage, chromosome segregation errors, micronuclei formation, and cytosolic DNA release that activates the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)–stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway. In a Sprtn knock-in mouse model of Ruijs-Aalfs progeria syndrome, chronic cGas-Sting signaling caused embryonic lethality through inflammation and innate immune responses. Surviving mice displayed aging phenotypes beginning in embryogenesis, which persisted into adulthood.
A smashing success: Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider wraps up final collisions
Just after 9 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, final beams of oxygen ions—oxygen atoms stripped of their electrons—circulated through the twin 2.4-mile-circumference rings of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and crashed into one another at nearly the speed of light inside the collider’s two house-sized particle detectors, STAR and sPHENIX. RHIC, a nuclear physics research facility at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has been smashing atoms since the summer of 2000. The final collisions cap a quarter century of remarkable experiments using 10 different atomic species colliding over a wide range of energies in different configurations.
The RHIC program has produced groundbreaking discoveries about the building blocks of matter and the nature of proton spin and technological advances in accelerators, detectors, and computing that have far surpassed scientists’ expectations when this discovery machine first turned on.
“RHIC has been one of the most successful user facilities operated by the DOE Office of Science, serving thousands of scientists from across the nation and around the globe,” said DOE Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil. “Supporting these one-of-a-kind research facilities pushes the limits of technology and expands our understanding of our world through transformational science—central pillars of DOE’s mission to ensure America’s security and prosperity.”
Restoring the Strength of Natural Killer Cells
In Aging Cell, researchers have described why older natural killer (NK) cells lose their ability to eliminate harmful cells and a potential treatment for this decline.
Judgment and ability
At the cellular level, there is no due process. Natural killer (NK) cells judge other cells’ guilt or innocence by their surface proteins. They ruthlessly exterminate any foreign cells they find, which is what causes organ rejection; when they mistakenly attack the body’s own functional cells, autoimmune disorders are the result.
Engineers Just Developed a Perfect Material for a Truly Unsinkable Ship
For years researchers have tried to unlock the impressive underwater abilities of the diving bell spider, and new study details their best attempt yet.
A legendary golden fabric lost for 2,000 years has been brought back
A legendary golden fabric once worn only by emperors has made an astonishing comeback. Korean scientists have successfully recreated ancient sea silk—a rare, shimmering fiber prized since Roman times—using a humble clam farmed in modern coastal waters. Beyond reviving its luxurious look, the team uncovered why this fiber never fades: its glow comes not from dyes, but from microscopic structures that bend light itself.
