Lead Story
Physicists discover hidden gluon structure inside protons that could rewrite textbooks
Analyzing collision data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory, physicists reported in Science on August 13, 2026 that they have found evidence of a Y-shaped gluon 'junction' inside protons that may carry the particle's baryon number, the quantum property underlying its extraordinary stability. The finding challenges the decades-old textbook model, which held that baryon number was divided evenly among a proton's three valence quarks, and instead suggests it may be carried by dynamic gluon fields that dominate the particle's internal structure. Researchers led by Zhangbu Xu of Kent State University and Brookhaven Lab say the discovery could help explain why protons remain intact over timescales exceeding the age of the universe and may shed light on the imbalance between matter and antimatter.
Read more →Lead Story
Physicists discover hidden gluon structure inside protons that could rewrite textbooks
Analyzing collision data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory, physicists reported in Science on August 13, 2026 that they have found evidence of a Y-shaped gluon 'junction' inside protons that may carry the particle's baryon number, the quantum property underlying its extraordinary stability. The finding challenges the decades-old textbook model, which held that baryon number was divided evenly among a proton's three valence quarks, and instead suggests it may be carried by dynamic gluon fields that dominate the particle's internal structure. Researchers led by Zhangbu Xu of Kent State University and Brookhaven Lab say the discovery could help explain why protons remain intact over timescales exceeding the age of the universe and may shed light on the imbalance between matter and antimatter.
Ten-cent-a-day heart drug found to cut heart-failure hospitalizations by 25%
A pooled analysis of three randomized clinical trials, reported August 14, 2026, found that low-dose digoxin, a centuries-old heart medication costing less than ten cents a day, reduced heart-failure hospitalizations by about 25% in patients with reduced or mildly reduced ejection fraction. The studies, led by cardiologists Dirk Jan van Veldhuisen, Kevin Damman and Peter van der Meer at the University Medical Center Groningen, found the low dose was safe and easy to use and was associated with fewer deaths and hospitalizations, reviving interest in a drug that had fallen out of favor after earlier trials used higher, less-tolerated doses. Researchers say the results, combined with a related JAMA meta-analysis of over 9,000 patients, could pave the way for digoxin's return as an inexpensive add-on treatment for heart failure worldwide.
Read more →Ten-cent-a-day heart drug found to cut heart-failure hospitalizations by 25%
A pooled analysis of three randomized clinical trials, reported August 14, 2026, found that low-dose digoxin, a centuries-old heart medication costing less than ten cents a day, reduced heart-failure hospitalizations by about 25% in patients with reduced or mildly reduced ejection fraction. The studies, led by cardiologists Dirk Jan van Veldhuisen, Kevin Damman and Peter van der Meer at the University Medical Center Groningen, found the low dose was safe and easy to use and was associated with fewer deaths and hospitalizations, reviving interest in a drug that had fallen out of favor after earlier trials used higher, less-tolerated doses. Researchers say the results, combined with a related JAMA meta-analysis of over 9,000 patients, could pave the way for digoxin's return as an inexpensive add-on treatment for heart failure worldwide.
Low-cost blood test detects multiple cancers and diseases from a single sample
UCLA researchers reported August 10, 2026 that they have developed MethylScan, a low-cost cell-free DNA methylation assay that can screen for multiple cancers and other diseases from a single blood draw for an estimated cost of under $20 per sample. Rather than hunting for cancer-associated mutations, the test reads methylation patterns, chemical tags that regulate gene activity, and in validation studies detected about 63% of cancers overall at 98% specificity, including roughly 55% of early-stage cancers, while identifying nearly 80% of liver cancers among high-risk patients and correctly classifying about 85% of liver disease cases. The researchers say the assay's low cost and single-sample simplicity could make broad multi-disease screening far more accessible, including for organ injury detection and reducing reliance on invasive liver biopsies.
Read more →Low-cost blood test detects multiple cancers and diseases from a single sample
UCLA researchers reported August 10, 2026 that they have developed MethylScan, a low-cost cell-free DNA methylation assay that can screen for multiple cancers and other diseases from a single blood draw for an estimated cost of under $20 per sample. Rather than hunting for cancer-associated mutations, the test reads methylation patterns, chemical tags that regulate gene activity, and in validation studies detected about 63% of cancers overall at 98% specificity, including roughly 55% of early-stage cancers, while identifying nearly 80% of liver cancers among high-risk patients and correctly classifying about 85% of liver disease cases. The researchers say the assay's low cost and single-sample simplicity could make broad multi-disease screening far more accessible, including for organ injury detection and reducing reliance on invasive liver biopsies.
New ultra-corrosion-resistant steel could cut green hydrogen production costs 40-fold
Researchers led by Professor Mingxin Huang at the University of Hong Kong reported in early August 2026 that they have developed 'SS-H2,' a stainless steel with unexpected corrosion resistance that could replace costly titanium components in green hydrogen electrolyzers, potentially cutting structural material costs by roughly 40 times. In seawater electrolyzer tests, the steel matched the performance of titanium parts currently required for producing hydrogen from desalinated or acidic seawater, thanks to a novel 'sequential dual-passivation' technique combining chromium- and manganese-based protective layers that the team says cannot yet be fully explained by existing corrosion science. The researchers caution that turning the experimental alloy into commercial electrolyzer components such as meshes and foams will still require significant engineering work, but say the discovery removes a major cost barrier to scaling up affordable seawater-based hydrogen production.
Read more →New ultra-corrosion-resistant steel could cut green hydrogen production costs 40-fold
Researchers led by Professor Mingxin Huang at the University of Hong Kong reported in early August 2026 that they have developed 'SS-H2,' a stainless steel with unexpected corrosion resistance that could replace costly titanium components in green hydrogen electrolyzers, potentially cutting structural material costs by roughly 40 times. In seawater electrolyzer tests, the steel matched the performance of titanium parts currently required for producing hydrogen from desalinated or acidic seawater, thanks to a novel 'sequential dual-passivation' technique combining chromium- and manganese-based protective layers that the team says cannot yet be fully explained by existing corrosion science. The researchers caution that turning the experimental alloy into commercial electrolyzer components such as meshes and foams will still require significant engineering work, but say the discovery removes a major cost barrier to scaling up affordable seawater-based hydrogen production.
FDA approves first oncolytic virus therapy for advanced melanoma after two rejections
The FDA granted accelerated approval on August 6, 2026 to vusolimogene oderparepvec-wtpg, marketed as Tudriqev, in combination with nivolumab for adult patients with unresectable advanced melanoma that progressed after PD-1-blocking treatment, making it the first oncolytic viral gene therapy approved for the disease. The approval, based on the single-arm IGNYTE trial of 140 patients, showed a 24.2% objective response rate and a median response duration of 14.1 months among evaluable patients, and came after FDA's Cellular, Tissue, and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee voted 10-3 on July 30, 2026 that the results were clinically meaningful, following two earlier rejections over trial design concerns. Developed by Replimune, the genetically modified herpes-virus-based therapy works by replicating within tumor cells to trigger both direct cell death and a broader immune response against the cancer.
Read more →FDA approves first oncolytic virus therapy for advanced melanoma after two rejections
The FDA granted accelerated approval on August 6, 2026 to vusolimogene oderparepvec-wtpg, marketed as Tudriqev, in combination with nivolumab for adult patients with unresectable advanced melanoma that progressed after PD-1-blocking treatment, making it the first oncolytic viral gene therapy approved for the disease. The approval, based on the single-arm IGNYTE trial of 140 patients, showed a 24.2% objective response rate and a median response duration of 14.1 months among evaluable patients, and came after FDA's Cellular, Tissue, and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee voted 10-3 on July 30, 2026 that the results were clinically meaningful, following two earlier rejections over trial design concerns. Developed by Replimune, the genetically modified herpes-virus-based therapy works by replicating within tumor cells to trigger both direct cell death and a broader immune response against the cancer.