New research published in the American Physical Society June 24 and led by Rice University physicist Christopher Tunnell and postdoctoral researcherDorian Amaral, the study’s first author and lead analyst, sees the first direct search for ultralight dark matter using a magnetically levitated particle. In collaboration with physicists from Leiden University, the team suspended a microscopic neodymium magnet inside a superconducting enclosure cooled to near absolute zero. The setup was designed to detect subtle oscillations believed to be caused by dark matter waves moving through Earth.

Astronomers from The University of New Mexico, along with U.S. and international researchers, have confirmed the existence of a new giant exoplanet, made possible through a collaboration with citizen sciences around the world. The discovery is detailed in a new paper published in The Astronomical Journal, with Postdoctoral Fellow Zahra Essack, Ph.D. as lead author, and Assistant Professor Diana Dragomir as co-author.

Three new frog species have recently been discovered in the Cordillera de Huancabamba, a mountainous region in Northwestern Peru. The species are Pristimantis chinguelas, P. nunezcortezi, and P. yonke. The discovery was made by a team of scientists who conducted difficult expeditions in the rugged terrain, searching for signs of amphibian life. The team observed signs of habitat degradation, fire damage, and expanding farmland, highlighting the need for conservation efforts.

The question of whether Earth is alone in harboring life has captivated humanity for millennia. In recent years, scientists have turned to Earth-like planets in other solar systems that may show the most promise, but many revolve around stars that emit much stronger solar radiation than our own. Now, a new study offers evidence that life as we know it may be able to thrive on those Earth-like exoplanets.

Dr. Congrui Grace Jin and her colleagues from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have worked for years on bio-manufacturing engineered living materials and have developed a synthetic lichen system that can form building materials with no outside intervention. Their latest study, funded by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program and recently published in the Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, applies this research to the autonomous construction of structures on Mars, using the planet’s regolith, which includes dust, sand and rocks.

SAN ANTONIO — June 24, 2025— Southwest Research Institute has delivered the novel Compact Dual Ion Composition Experiment (CoDICE) instrument for final integration into NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) spacecraft. Scheduled to launch in late 2025, IMAP will help researchers better understand the boundary of the heliosphere, the magnetic bubble that surrounds and protects our solar system.