a-250-million-year-old-fossil-reveals-the-origins-of-mammal-hearing

Sensitive hearing may have evolved in mammal ancestors far earlier than scientists once believed. By modeling how sound moved through the skull of Thrinaxodon, a 250-million-year-old mammal predecessor, researchers found it likely used an early eardrum to hear airborne sounds. This challenges the long-held idea that these animals mainly “listened”Continue Reading

mit-in-the-media:-2025-in-review

“At MIT, innovation ranges from awe-inspiring technology to down-to-Earth creativity,” noted Chronicle, during a campus visit this year for an episode of the program. In 2025, MIT researchers made headlines across print publications, podcasts, and video platforms for key scientific advances, from breakthroughs in quantum and artificial intelligence to new effortsContinue Reading

nasa-astronaut-suni-williams-retires

NASA astronaut Suni Williams at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Naval Ordnance Test Unit basin in Florida on March 28, 2018. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett After 27 years of service, NASA astronaut Suni Williams retired from the agency, effective Dec. 27, 2025. Williams completed three missions aboard the International Space Station,Continue Reading

new-nasa-artemis-payloads-to-study-moon’s-terrain,-radiation,-history

NASA NASA announced Tuesday the selection of three new science investigations that will strengthen humanity’s understanding and exploration of the Moon. As part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, American companies will deliver these research payloads to the lunar surface no earlier than 2028.Continue Reading

expedition-74-spends-tuesday-on-microbiology,-lab-maintenance

A red-yellow airglow blankets Earth’s horizon as the city lights of southwestern Europe and North Africa sparkle in contrast to the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea that separates the two continents. NASA Microbiology research to protect astronaut health and spacecraft hardware topped the science schedule aboard the International SpaceContinue Reading

nih-supplements,-facts-first-challenge

Image credit: HeroX NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) assists in the use of crowdsourcing across the federal government. CoECI’s NASA Tournament Lab offers the contract capability to run external crowdsourced challenges on behalf of NASA and other agencies. The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the NationalContinue Reading

nasa chase-aircraft-ensures x-59’s safety in-flight 

5 min read NASA Chase Aircraft Ensures X-59’s Safety in Flight  NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above Palmdale and Edwards, California, during its first flight Oct. 28, 2025, accompanied by a NASA F/A-18 research aircraft serving as chase. NASA/Jim Ross As NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft continues a series of flight tests over theContinue Reading

nasa’s sunrise smallsats ace-tests, moving closer-to launch

Engineers at Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) oversee vibration testing of one of the six small satellites of NASA’s SunRISE mission in a laboratory clean room in October 2025. Space Dynamics Laboratory/Allison Bills The small satellites passed a crucible of tests, ending with a simulation of the intense vibrations of launch. When the six tiny spacecraft of NASA’s SunRISE (SunContinue Reading

nasa’s-sls-rocket:-secondary-payloads

When NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket launches the agency’s Artemis II mission to the Moon, four CubeSats, or small satellites, will be hitching a ride inside the rocket’s Orion stage adapter (OSA). All four Artemis II CubeSats are provided by countries that are signatories of the Artemis Accords. PayloadContinue Reading