Laurence Tognetti

Not Just Chips: Beef Jerky Is a Top Cannabis Food Craving | Cannabis Sciences What are favorite “munchies” for cannabis users? This is what a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences&n | Cannabis Sciences

Dr. Carrie Cuttler: “Beef jerky was one of the No. 1 things intoxicated people gravitated toward, which I don’t understand. Honestly, I would have thought chocolate, chips, Rice Krispies treats—things like that.” www.labroots.com/trending/can...

How astronaut waste could feed future colonies in space | Space Could recycled sewage grow crops on the Moon and Mars? This is what a recent study published in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry hopes to address as a team of | Space

“In lunar and Martian outposts, organic wastes will be key to generating healthy, productive soils,” said Harrison Coker. www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

Mars volcano formed through multiple eruptive phases | Space How did young volcanoes on Mars form? This is what a recent study published in the journal Geology hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated th | Space

“Our results show that even during Mars’ most recent volcanic period, magma systems beneath the surface remained active and complex,” said Dr. Bartosz Pieterek. www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

Scientists identify climatic signals of natural events | Earth And The Environment How do wildfires and volcanoes influence the Earth’s temperature? This is what a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of | Earth And The Environment

“Understanding the climate responses to natural forcings is essential for us to interpret anthropogenic climate change,” said Dr. Yaowei Li. www.labroots.com/trending/ear...

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

Europa is one of the most intriguing places in our solar system, primarily because it is considered a promising target to search for life beyond Earth. It’s a world defined by ice, mystery, and a vast subsurface ocean estimated to have twice the liquid water as all of Earth’s oceans combined. (1/2)

Jupiter's Moons May Have Held Life's Ingredients at Birth | Space When did Jupiter’s Galilean moons first contain the ingredients for life? This is what complementary studies published in The Planetary Science Journ | Space

Dr. Olivier Mousis: “Our findings suggest that Jupiter’s moons did not form as chemically pristine worlds.” www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

First 3D map of Uranus's upper atmosphere created | Space What does the atmosphere of Uranus look like? This is what a recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters hopes to address as a team of researche | Space

“This is the first time we've been able to see Uranus's upper atmosphere in three dimensions,” said Paola Tiranti. www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

Space Station Microbes Harvest Metals from Meteorites | Space How can microbes be used to help enhance human space exploration, specifically on the Moon and Mars? This is what a recent study published in npj Micrograv | Space

Most microbes aboard the International Space Station can extract valuable metals like palladium from meteorite material in microgravity, showing potential for sustainable space resource mining. www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

HD 137010 b: Earth-Sized Exoplanet Could Be Icy and Cold | Space How any Earth-sized exoplanets exist, and how do we find them? This is what a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters hopes to address | Space

Astronomers have found an Earth-sized exoplanet, HD 137010 b, orbiting a nearby Sun-like star but likely far too cold to be habitable. www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

Outer rocky world challenges planet-forming theory | Space What can rocky planets orbiting in the outer parts of a solar system teach scientists about planetary formation and evolution? This is what a recent study | Space

Dr. Ryan Cloutier: “We’ve seen this pattern: rocky inside, gaseous outside, across hundreds of planetary systems. But now, the discovery of a rocky planet in the outer part of a system forces us to rethink the timing and conditions under which rocky planets can form.”

Moon's Hidden Ridges Reveal Recent Tectonic Activity | Space Does our Moon exhibit recent tectonic activity? This is what a recent study published in The Planetary Science Journal hopes to address as a team of scient | Space

“Since the Apollo era, we’ve known about the prevalence of lobate scarps throughout the lunar highlands, but this is the first time scientists have documented the widespread prevalence of similar features throughout the lunar mare,” said Dr. Cole Nypaver. www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

Cannabis Access Tied to Big Drop in Daily Opioid Use | Cannabis Sciences How can cannabis legalization influence opioid use? This is what a recent study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence hopes to address as a team of rese | Cannabis Sciences

Greater access to legal cannabis is associated with a significant drop in daily opioid use, suggesting that cannabis availability may reduce reliance on opioids for pain or other use. www.labroots.com/trending/can...

Why Earth-like worlds might be rare | Space How common are Earth-like worlds beyond our solar system? This is what a recent study published in Nature Astronomy hopes to address as an international te | Space

Dr. Craig Walton: “This makes searching for life on other planets a lot more specific. We should look for solar systems with stars that resemble our own Sun.” www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

Bennu asteroid reveals new origins for life's amino acids | Space Did the ingredients for life as we know it exist in the early solar system? This is what a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academ | Space

“Our results flip the script on how we have typically thought amino acids formed in asteroids,” said Dr. Allison Baczynski. www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

Radar Reveals Hidden Lava Tube Beneath Venus Surface | Space What new insights about lava tubes on Venus can scientists gain about the planet’s formation, evolution, and present volcanic activity? This is what | Space

"The available data allow us to confirm and measure only the portion of the cavity close to the skylight,” said Dr. Lorenzo Bruzzone. www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

Cassini data show Enceladus stirs Saturn's magnetosphere | Space How can Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, influence its much larger parent planet? This is what a recent study published in the Journal of Geophysical Resear | Space

“This is the first time such an extensive electromagnetic reach by Enceladus has been observed, proving that this small moon acts as a giant planetary-scale Alfvén wave generator,” said Dr. Thomas Chust. www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

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Cannabis Beverages Could Cut Alcohol Use | Cannabis Sciences Can cannabis-infused drinks help serve as substitutes for alcohol? This is what a recent study published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs hopes to addr | Cannabis Sciences

“In the first study of its kind, we introduce the concept of having cannabis as harm reduction for alcohol," said Dr. Jessica Kruger. www.labroots.com/trending/can...

AI suggests faster synthesis paths for advanced materials | Technology How can generative AI help scientists find new material synthesis paths? This is what a recent study published in Nature Computational Science hopes to add | Technology

Elton Pan: “This approach could be extended to other materials. Now, the bottleneck is finding high-quality data for different material classes.” www.labroots.com/trending/tec...

Unusual Martian Dust Storm Reveals Water Loss Mechanism | Space How does Mars lose its water, and what can this teach scientists about the planet’s ancient past when it had much more water? This is what a recent s | Space

"These results add a vital new piece to the incomplete puzzle of how Mars has been losing its water over billions of years and shows that short but intense episodes can play a relevant role in the climate evolution of the Red Planet," said Dr. Shohei Aoki. www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

Probe maps Sun's outer boundary, reshaping solar wind views | Space How does the solar wind get heated as it leaves the Sun and approaches Earth? This is what a recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters hopes t | Space

"We know there's this constant heat that's being input into the solar wind, and we want to understand what mechanisms are actually leading to that heating," said Dr. Kristopher Klein. www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

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Biofilms May Have Sparked Life on Earth—and Could Sustain It in Space How can microorganism communities known as biofilms, and have been hypothesized to be responsible for early life on Earth, be used for space exploration? This is what a recent study published in npj Biofilms and Microbiomes hopes to address as an international collaboration of researchers investigated the pros and cons of using biofilms in spaceflight. This study has the potential for scientists to better understand the role of biofilms in spaceflight while mitigating health risks of astronauts.

Feed: "Universe Today"
By: Laurence Tognetti, MSc (https://www.universetoday.com/authors/laurencetognetti) on Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Bacteria Form Stronger Mars Bricks Despite Toxic Soil | Space How can engineers design bricks on Mars for future habitats despite the toxic Martian regolith, also called perchlorates? This is what a recent study publi | Space

“When the effect of perchlorate on just the bacteria is studied in isolation, it is a stressful factor,” said Swati Dubey. “But in the bricks, with the right ingredients in the mixture, perchlorate is helping.” www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

Why Planets Around Two Suns Are Surprisingly Uncommon | Space Why is it so rare to find exoplanets orbiting two stars, also called circumbinary planets (CBPs)? This is what a recent study published in The Astrophysica | Space

Dr. Mohammad Farhat: “Two things can happen: Either the planet gets very, very close to the binary, suffering tidal disruption or being engulfed by one of the stars, or its orbit gets significantly perturbed by the binary to be eventually ejected from the system." www.labroots.com/trending/spa...

Juno spacecraft reveals thickness of Europa's ice shell | Space How thick is the ice shell on Jupiter’s moon, Europa? This is what a recent study published in Nature Astronomy hopes to address as a team of scienti | Space

NASA’s JUNO finds Europa’s icy shell much thinner than expected, reshaping views on ocean habitability. www.labroots.com/trending/spa...