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Sound waves reconstruct Alaska fireball path after cameras miss key details

When a bright fireball streaked across the Alaska sky last spring, the usual tools scientists rely on to track such events—cameras and satellites—did not provide a detailed picture. But the meteoroid left behind something else: low-frequency sound waves that traveled hundreds of miles and were captured by a dense network of earthquake and volcano-monitoring sensors on the ground.

Using those signals, a Sandia National Laboratories-led team of researchers, students and citizen scientists reconstructed the object’s path through the atmosphere, where it broke apart and where debris likely fell.

In a study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, the team showed how low-frequency sound waves, faint ground vibrations, weather radar data and publicly shared videos can be combined to reconstruct a fireball’s path even when optical coverage is sparse or incomplete.

LiDAR approach could change factory inspections for tiny hard-to-reach parts

Researchers have developed a new LiDAR approach that makes it possible to image small objects with much greater precision and accuracy than conventional LiDAR. The method could be useful for acquiring noncontact measurements of critical parts or features during manufacturing.

“LiDAR systems like the ones used in autonomous cars typically measure large objects like roads, cars and trees at large distances with an accuracy of a few centimeters,” said research team leader Derryck T. Reid from Heriot-Watt University in the U.K. “Our LiDAR imaging technique makes it possible to acquire measurements with much greater accuracy while maintaining fully electronic detection, which avoids the complexity and scalability challenges of some high-precision systems.”

In the journal Optics Letters, the researchers describe their new imaging technique, which is based on two-photon dual-comb ranging. They show that the approach can be used to create detailed 3D representations of small aluminum objects with micron-scale precision from 40 centimeters (16 inches) away.

Melatonin can be a safe and effective sleep aid for all ages but improper dosing leads to real harms

Melatonin—a go-to sleep aid for kids and adults alike in many households in America— continues to create media buzz, with conflicting messages that leave people uncertain about its safety.

Some headlines point to melatonin’s supposed immunity-boosting power, while others point to unestablished links between melatonin and heart failure.

I’m a pediatrician and sleep medicine doctor specializing in children, adolescents and adults.

New postnatal gene therapy offers hope for congenital hearing loss

Hereditary hearing loss affects millions globally, with mutations in the SLC26A4 gene among the most common genetic triggers, particularly across Asian populations. This condition leads to severe-to-profound deafness accompanied by inner ear malformations, such as an abnormally enlarged vestibular aqueduct and endolymphatic sac.

While gene replacement therapies have long held immense potential, experimental interventions have historically been restricted to the embryonic stage. Delivering genetic material before birth presents steep ethical and practical hurdles, creating a critical roadblock for real-world medical applications.

Brain aneurysm map reveals cell types tied to rupture risk

A new study from UC San Francisco shows how certain cells in the brain may cause aneurysms to weaken and rupture. It helps explain why some aneurysms burst while others do not and could lead to new ways of predicting and possibly preventing strokes.

Brain aneurysms are bulges in blood vessels that can go unnoticed for years. If they rupture, they can cause a severe and often deadly type of stroke. About one in 50 Americans has a brain aneurysm, but doctors still struggle to predict which ones are most dangerous.

The new study helps to unpack the biology behind these events by mapping the cells in artery walls and the interactions that weaken them.

Gold-laced nanoparticles could eventually spot and treat endometriosis without surgery

Endometriosis is a painful, common condition affecting women worldwide, but treatment and diagnosis options are scarce. A new University of Mississippi-led study may have found an answer to both problems.

Early results from a study published in Communications Chemistry show that gold-laced nanoparticles can hitchhike on white blood cells. By using those cells as a delivery vehicle, the team hopes to identify and treat endometriosis without repeated surgeries.

“Lots of women go through their lives being in enormous amounts of pain and thinking that it’s normal, and it’s not normal,” said Eden Tanner, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, who authored the study with a team of Ole Miss researchers.

Fish-inspired sensor tracks how human heart tissue responds to disease and treatment

Engineers have developed a new way to monitor how tiny lab-grown human heart tissues beat—by effectively “listening” to the ripples they create. The team has created a wireless, noninvasive sensing platform that can biomechanically measure how strongly the miniature heart tissues, known as cardiac organoids, beat in real time. The research could help accelerate drug development, improve disease modeling and reduce reliance on animal testing, offering a more human-relevant way to study how the heart works.

Cardiac organoids are 3D clusters of human heart cells grown in a laboratory that are used to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new drugs prior to clinical trials, as well as study disease. While they don’t replicate the full structure of a human heart, they mimic key behaviors, especially how heart muscles contract when drugs are administered.

They are increasingly seen as a powerful alternative to animal models, which often fail to fully capture how human biology works.

Atherosclerosis Profiling Reveals BHLHE40 as a Candidate Modulator of VSMC

BACKGROUND: Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) play a central role in atherosclerosis by undergoing phenotypic modulation from a quiescent, contractile state to a range of synthetic phenotypes, including fibroblast-like, macrophage-like, and lipid-laden foam cell–like states. However, a comprehensive multimodal characterization and understanding of the transcriptional programs driving these transitions remain incomplete. METHODS: To comprehensively define the phenotypic diversity of VSMCs during atherosclerosis progression, we performed in-depth profiling using cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing and bulk RNA sequencing in a VSMC-lineage–tracing atherosclerotic mouse model. Insights from these data sets guided the design of targeted in vitro experiments to investigate candidate regulatory mechanisms.

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