Science & Tech

Glial relay in hypothalamus links blood sugar to appetite suppression

Rodent study reveals a glia‑to‑glia‑to‑neuron circuit: tanycytes release lactate, activating astrocytes that excite appetite‑suppressing POMC neurons.

#neuroscience, #appetite, #glia, #hypothalamus

NOAA‑20 Misses Ground Contact, Causing One‑Orbit Delay in Weather Data

NOAA reports a brief delay in stored mission data from polar satellite NOAA‑20 after an April 6 ground contact miss; engineers expected recovery on a later pass.

#noaa, #weather, #satellites, #satelliteops

Netflix Launches Netflix Playground: A Dedicated Gaming App for Kids Under 8

Netflix introduces Netflix Playground, a kids-only gaming app bundled into subscriptions, offering offline, ad-free games for children eight and under.

#netflix, #kidsapps, #gaming, #streaming, #parentalcontrols

Alzheimer’s Blood Tests Enter Clinical Use, Spark Debate on Early Diagnosis

FDA clears first Alzheimer’s blood tests for clinical use, raising hopes and ethical questions on early detection and patient impact.

#alzheimers, #bloodtest, #healthcare, #diagnosis, #ethics

World Health Organization Launches Global Campaign to 'Stand with Science' at Lyon Summit

WHO launches a yearlong health campaign emphasizing science and One Health at Lyon's summit to combat pandemics, AMR, and environmental health threats.

#worldhealthorganization, #standwithscience, #onehealth, #pandemics, #antimicrobialresistance

Ocean 'Dead Zones' Are More Dynamic Than Thought, Revealed by Advanced Robot Sensors

New analysis of ocean robots uncovers dynamic nitrogen cycles in Pacific oxygen-deficient zones, impacting climate and marine life.

#oceanography, #nitrogencycle, #climatechange, #biogeochemicalargo, #deadzones

Earth-Facing Sunspot Sparks Powerful M7.5 Solar Flare, Causing Brief Radio Blackout

An M7.5 flare from Earth-facing active region 4409 triggered an R2 radio blackout but no major geomagnetic storm after no significant CME followed.

#spaceweather, #solarflare, #sunspots, #noaa, #aurora

Sungrazing Comet MAPS Skims the Sun, Leaving Astronomers Waiting to See if It Survived

Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) whipped just 150,000 km above the Sun. Spacecraft images in coming days will reveal whether it held together.

#comet, #astronomy, #sun, #nasa, #space

Indonesia Enforces Under-16 Ban on Major Social Media and Gaming Platforms

A new Indonesian rule is cutting millions of children off TikTok, YouTube and Roblox, raising safety hopes—and concerns over enforcement and rights.

#indonesia, #socialmedia, #childsafety, #ageverification, #tiktok

FDA Approves Lifyorli Combo for Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer, Showing Survival Gain

FDA clears Corcept’s Lifyorli with nab-paclitaxel for platinum-resistant ovarian-type cancers, the first cortisol-receptor blocker to extend survival.

#ovariancancer, #fda, #chemotherapy, #drugapproval, #oncology

Global Ocean Temperatures Near Record High as 2026 Spike Arrives Without El Niño Boost

Preliminary data show sea surface temperatures near record highs in March 2026 despite neutral Pacific conditions, raising risks for storms and reefs.

#climatechange, #oceantemperatures, #marineheatwaves, #coralbleaching, #hurricaneseason

Gravitational-wave catalog reveals long-predicted ‘missing’ range in black hole masses

Analysis of dozens of LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA mergers finds evidence for the pair-instability mass gap, linking black hole sizes to stellar deaths.

#gravitationalwaves, #blackholes, #ligo, #astrophysics, #stars

EU Commission Confirms Data Theft From Europa.eu Cloud Platform After Intrusion

EU officials say attackers stole data from the cloud systems behind Europa.eu. ShinyHunters claims a 350GB haul as investigators assess impact.

#cybersecurity, #europeanunion, #databreach, #cloud, #aws

Newsrooms Test AI for Tips — and Find a Familiar Problem: It Makes Things Up

A newsroom AI produced seven confident political “leads” — all false. Editors say verification gates and an “I don’t know” mode are essential.

#ai, #journalism, #misinformation, #elections

FERC Approves Sweeping Cybersecurity Overhaul for the U.S. Power Grid

Federal regulators approved tougher NERC security rules for low-impact devices, virtualized control systems and more control rooms—reshaping grid compliance.

#cybersecurity, #powergrid, #ferc, #nerc, #criticalinfrastructure