Giant canyon on Mars is still tectonically active today

Credit: Folarin Kolawole

Scientists at Columbia University and Imperial College London have found that the largest canyon system in the solar system is still active and shaping Mars today, billions of years after it first formed.

New research presents direct seismic evidence that a marsquake (Mars’s equivalent of an earthquake) detected by NASA’s InSight lander originated beneath the vast Martian canyon system, Valles Marineris, and was caused by rocks slipping along a fault deep within the planet’s crust.

The finding suggests that faults established during the formation and early evolution of Valles Marineris billions of years ago can remain weak enough to rupture under stresses acting on Mars today.

“Valles Marineris is one of the most spectacular geological structures anywh...

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Background static can carry wireless data without an actively generated radio signal

Thermal noise used to send data without an active signal
Green circuit board with gold connectors mounted on a horn antenna inside a chamber lined with blue foam cones. The experimental setup used to test thermal noise communication. Credit: Jida Zhang

Stanford researchers recently revealed how a seemingly physics-defying wireless communication technology works. The new technology, called thermal noise communication, harnesses background static that normally is the bane of radio, cellular and other wireless signals. In their new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team showed how a transmitter could deliver data to a receiver without any actively produced signal by manipulating tiny oscillations in voltage.

The findings describe how the system works at a fundamental level, opening the door to improv...

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A magnetar can be born when two neutron stars touch

Illustration of a binary neutron star merger just as the two stars make contact. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Illustration of a binary neutron star merger just as the two stars make contact. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

All neutron stars have intense magnetic fields. The typical magnetic field of a neutron star is about 100,000 times stronger than the strongest magnetic fields we can create on Earth. But about 1% of neutron stars have even stronger magnetic fields. Known as magnetars, their magnetic fields can be 1,000 times stronger than a regular magnetic field. They are a likely cause of powerful transient events such as soft gamma-ray repeaters and fast radio bursts. A new study looks at how magnetars might form. The findings are published on the arXiv preprint server.

The work focuses on the mergers of binary neutron stars...

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Immune changes could signal inflammatory bowel disease up to 10 years before diagnosis

ulcerative colitis
Endoscopic image of a bowel section known as the sigmoid colon afflicted with ulcerative colitis. The internal surface of the colon is blotchy and broken in places. Credit: Samir/Wikipedia

A large-scale study, presented at UEG Week 2026, has identified distinct antibody patterns up to 10 years before the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), potentially opening new avenues for earlier risk detection and providing insights into future disease course.

IBD is a group of chronic conditions, including Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), in which abnormal immune responses contribute to ongoing inflammation and damage in the digestive system...

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