Astronomers say they’ve spotted the first miniature quasar pointed at Earth - Science News

As the summer drew to a close, aerial surveyors with the New England Aquarium saw more than 2,000 animals across 15 different marine species in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, southeast of Cape Cod. Among that vast diversity, the team spotted Chilean devil rays (Mobula tarapacana). This ethereal fish is “one of the ocean’s best-kept secrets,” according to the aquarium. “We rarely see Chilean devil rays on our aerial surveys,” Katherine McKenna, a researcher in the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, tells Popular Science. McKenna was one of the observers on the team that saw the Chilean devil rays from above.

The orange color is cute and festive, but bad for camouflage. While fall officially began only a few weeks ago, many of us have come to expect pumpkins and Halloween decorations in stores as early as August. And this year, an adorable baby turtle joined in on the early autumnal festivities.

Mount Sinai brain and cardiovascular tissue models launched toward the International Space Station aboard SpaceX CRS-35. The experiments will examine tissue function, genetic susceptibility and biological changes associated with spaceflight. Published miBrain research and a separate circulation preprint provide the groundwork; results from this mission remain ahead. Human brain tissue and beating cardiovascular organoids are headed into orbit to face an unusual laboratory test. Their destination is the International Space Station, where weightlessness and radiation exposure could reveal vulnerabilities difficult to study on Earth. The Mount Sinai investigations are traveling aboard SpaceX CRS-35, which launched October 13. They bring together researchers in stem cell biology, neuroscience, surgery and cardiovascular science at the Icahn School of Medicine. One project uses a personalized brain tissue model called miBrain. The other places cardiovascular organoids inside microfluidic chips, miniature devices that manage fluid around living tissue. The mission builds on established laboratory work, including a 2025 paper in PNAS introducing miBrain.