EurekAlert! In the Spotlight - Global Astronomy Month

In honor of Global Astronomy Month, we’re exploring the science of space. Learn how astronomy connects us through curiosity, discovery, and a shared wonder for what lies beyond.

Space conference blasts off with promising innovations

Ohio State University

Global interest in human spaceflight has ignited passions for the emerging commercial space ecosystem, and efforts to expand space research and related manufacturing are taking center stage in Ohio.

1-May-2025

Electricity-generating bacteria may power future innovations

Rice University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team led by Rice University bioscientist Caroline Ajo-Franklin has discovered how certain bacteria breathe by generating electricity, using a natural process that pushes electrons into their surroundings instead of breathing on oxygen. The findings, published in Cell last month, could enable new developments in clean energy and industrial biotechnology.

Journal: Cell

1-May-2025

Spacecraft that sweat? A cool new way to tackle atmospheric reentry

Texas A&M University

The Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University is partnering with Canopy Aerospace to develop and test a 3D-printed material that releases or “sweats” a coolant gas to protect spacecraft. This technology, part of a $1.7 million Air Force Small Business Technology Transfer grant, could enable the design of fully and rapidly reusable spacecraft.

1-May-2025

Gaia spots odd family of stars desperate to leave home

European Space Agency
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The European Space Agency’s Gaia mission has spotted an unusual family of stars all strangely eager to leave home – a family we couldn’t have discovered without the star-surveying spacecraft, and one unlike all others we have spotted to date.

Journal: The Astrophysical Journal

1-May-2025

Satellite data shows earlier leaf flush in spring caused by high temperatures in 2023 and 2024

University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Tsukuba estimated Japan's spring leaf flush dates in recent years using data from the Second-generation Global Imager (SGLI) sensor onboard the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Global Change Observation Mission-Climate (GCOM-C) satellite. Their analysis revealed that in 2023 and 2024, years characterized by exceptionally high spring temperatures, leaf flush occurred significantly earlier than usual, indicating that elevated temperatures linked to climate change are affecting Japanese ecosystems.

Journal: Scientific Reports

29-Apr-2025

Forest in sync: Spruce trees communicate during a solar eclipse

Southern Cross University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Regular light-dark cycles greatly affect organisms, and events like eclipses induce distinctive physiological and behavioral shifts. While well-documented in animals, plant behavior during eclipses remains largely unexplored. Scientists monitored spruce trees to assess their bioelectrical responses to a solar eclipse and discovered trees anticipated the eclipse, synchronizing their bioelectrical behavior hours in advance. Older trees displayed greater anticipatory behavior with early time-asymmetry and entropy increases.

Journal: Royal Society Open Science
Funder: Zenit Arti Audiovisive, OpenAzienda S.r.l., PrimoPrincipio Societá Cooperativa, IGA Technology Services and the Templeton World Charity Foundation, H2020 European Research Council

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

Latest News Releases

Space conference blasts off with promising innovations

Electricity-generating bacteria may power future innovations

Spacecraft that sweat? A cool new way to tackle atmospheric reentry

Gaia spots odd family of stars desperate to leave home

Satellite data shows earlier leaf flush in spring caused by high temperatures in 2023 and 2024

Forest in sync: Spruce trees communicate during a solar eclipse