Magnetic ‘switchback’ detected near Earth for the first time

Magnetic 'Switchback'
NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, which consists of four spacecraft, is gathering information about magnetic reconnection around Earth. Credit: NASA/GSFC

In recent years, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has given us a close-up look at the sun. Among the probe’s revelations was the presence of numerous kinks, or “switchbacks,” in magnetic field lines in the sun’s outer atmosphere. These switchbacks are thought to form when solar magnetic field lines that point in opposite directions break and then snap together, or “reconnect,” in a new arrangement, leaving telltale zigzag kinks in the reconfigured lines.

In their article published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, E. O. McDougall and M. R...

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Bacterial enzyme and nanoparticle discoveries hold promise for treating gut pain

Fluorescent nanoparticles (purple) carrying a drug to treat pain accumulate in the cells of a mouse colon. Credit: Bunnett Lab

Abdominal pain is a hallmark of many digestive disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome. In an effort to develop targeted treatments for gut pain, scientists have discovered a new enzyme in gut bacteria and are using nanoparticles to deliver drugs inside cells.

Currently, there are no treatments specifically for gut pain, and existing painkillers are often insufficient at managing symptoms. These drugs—including opioids, NSAIDs, and steroids—also come with side effects, some of which directly harm the digestive system.

In two new studies published in Cell Host & Microbe and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sci...

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Back to the future: Is light-speed analog computing on the horizon?

Back to the future: Is light-speed analog computing on the horizon?
Fabricated unitary universal device and its power-divider layer. Credit: UTS / Dr Rasool Keshavarz

Scientists have achieved a breakthrough in analog computing, developing a programmable electronic circuit that harnesses the properties of high-frequency electromagnetic waves to perform complex parallel processing at light-speed.

The discovery points to a new era of computing that operates far beyond the limits of conventional digital electronics, using less energy, while performing massive calculations.

The study, “Programmable circuits for analog matrix computations,” has been published in Nature Communications.

The research was led by Dr...

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General relativity could make life possible on planets orbiting white dwarfs

General relativity could make life possible on planets orbiting white dwarfs
Parameter space showing the effect of GR on eccentricity oscillations due to an exterior planetary companion for a variety of combinations of the mass ratio m2/m1 and semi-major axis ratio a2/a1. Credit: arXiv (2025). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2509.26421

In the hunt for extraterrestrial life, we usually look for planets orbiting sun-like stars and icy moons. But there is another possible candidate—planets circling white dwarfs, the hot, dense remnants of dead stars.

A white dwarf is what is left when a star like our sun runs out of fuel and sheds its outer layers...

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