New census of sun’s neighbors reveals best potential real estate for life

A new study led by a Georgia State University astronomy graduate student is a major step forward in the search for stars that could host Earth-like planets that may prove to be good havens for life to develop. Sebastián Carrazco-Gaxiola shared the results at the January 2026 meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Phoenix, Ariz.

“This survey marks the first comprehensive look at thousands of the sun’s lower-mass cousins,” Carrazco-Gaxiola said. “These stars, known as ‘K dwarfs,’ are commonly found throughout space, and they provide a long-term, stable environment for their planetary companions.”

Survey details and observational methods
Carrazco-Gaxiola’s survey focuses on over 2,000 stars that are closer than 130 light-years from Earth...

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Diabetes drugs may be changing cancer in surprising ways

Diabetes Drugs May Be Changing Cancer
Diabetes drugs taken every day by millions may secretly be shaping cancer risk in ways scientists are only beginning to understand. Credit: Shutterstock

Common diabetes drugs may do more than regulate blood sugar—they could also influence how cancers grow, spread, or slow down. Researchers are now unraveling how these medications affect immune function, inflammation, and tumor biology, with intriguing but still uncertain implications.

Researchers are taking a closer look at how medications used to treat diabetes may also influence cancer. While diabetes itself has long been associated with higher cancer risk, scientists are now investigating whether diabetes drugs play a direct role beyond controlling blood sugar levels and body weight...

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XRISM gives sharpest-ever glimpse at growth of a rapidly-spinning black hole

Image: Artist’s rendering of the innermost regions around the supermassive black hole in the active galaxy MCG-6-30-15.  The event horizon (black region in center) marks the boundary between the black hole and the surrounding accretion disk, where the gas orbits at nearly the speed of light before plunging in. The extreme gravity and spin of the black hole combine to warp the shape of both the event horizon and the accretion disk as predicted by general relativity, even bending the light from the back side of the disk up into our line of sight. The wind driven from the innermost regions of this system is depicted by outflowing streamlines.  The component of this wind along our line of sight absorbs some of the X-rays emitted from the innermost disk. 

Astronomers have obtained the sharp...

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Short, intensive workouts can help fight bowel cancer

exercise
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

As many of us embark on an exercise or gym routine for the new year, research reveals that just 10 minutes of intense exercise could help fight cancer.

Short bursts of energetic activity can trigger rapid molecular changes in the bloodstream, shutting down bowel cancer growth and speeding up DNA damage repair, a new study has shown.

Researchers at Newcastle University have found that exercise increases the concentration of several small molecules in the blood—many linked to reducing inflammation, improving blood vessel function, and metabolism.

When these exercise-induced molecules were applied to bowel cancer cells in the lab, the activity of more than 1,300 genes was altered, including those involved in DNA repair, energy production, and c...

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