Japan space probe skims asteroid in test for planetary defense

asteroid (Dimorphos)
This high-resolution view of Dimorphos was created by combining the final 10 full-frame images obtained by DART’s Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) and layering the higher-resolution images on top of the lower-resolution ones. Dimorphos is oriented so that its north pole is toward the top of the image. Credit: Public Domain

A Japanese space probe performed a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid on Sunday in a test mission for technology that could help protect the planet from space rocks.

The fridge-sized Hayabusa2 was due to fly within 800 meters (0...

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Some agentic AI browsers may come with major cybersecurity risks

Some agentic AI browsers come with major cybersecurity risks, study finds
Attack concept in which a malicious website leverages a prompt injection and a browser agent’s cross-origin access to circumvent the same-origin policy and steal cross-origin data. Credit: University of Washington

In the last year or so, artificial intelligence companies have rolled out a spate of web browsers equipped with AI agents. A user might ask one of these agents to plan a vacation, and it will open browser tabs to research routes and restaurants, then make reservations and add events to the user’s calendar. How well it does any of this varies.

New research from the University of Washington found that the most powerful of these browsers also open users up to significant cybersecurity risks...

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Ovaries may take on job in immune system after their tenure as reproductive organs

Post-menopause ovaries transform to join the immune system after their tenure as the reproductive organ
Morphological characterization of reproductively young, reproductively aged, and post-reproductive ovaries. Credit: Molecular Human Reproduction (2026). DOI: 10.1093/molehr/gaag038

For most women, the body begins to change dramatically in their 40s or 50s. This transition, known as menopause, is defined as 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, marking the end of the reproductive years. While researchers are aware of the functions the ovaries perform during active reproductive years, what happens to the organ after menopause is largely a mystery.

A recent study in Molecular Human Reproduction investigated what happens to the ovary in mice after it stops producing eggs, a period known as the post-reproductive stage, similar to menopause in humans.

Researchers found th...

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Astronomers may have caught an early galaxy in the process of dying

Astronomers may have caught an early galaxy in the process of dying
JWST imaging of the RPS galaxy C26 in SPT2349–56. (a) Red-green-blue image of the protocluster core (blue: NIRCam/F200W; green: NIRCam/F444W; red: MIRI/F1000W). The RPS galaxy C26 is marked by the red rectangle. The cross labels the kinematic center of the protocluster. (b–d) Zoomed images of C26 in F200W, F444W, and F1000W, respectively. credit: DOI: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2606.18229

Astronomers have spotted many “red and dead” galaxies in the early universe. These are massive systems that stopped forming stars surprisingly early in cosmic history. Now, they may have found evidence of one in the act of becoming dead: a massive galaxy being stripped of its starforming gas just 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang...

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