The ATLAS Collaboration finds evidence of Higgs-boson decays to muons and improves sensitivity to Higgs-boson decays to a Z boson and a photon.
Since the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, physicists have made major strides in exploring its properties. Does that mean the subject is done and dusted? Far from it! In new results presented at the 2025 European Physical Society Conference on High Energy Physics (EPS-HEP), the ATLAS Collaboration narrowed in on two exceptionally rare Higgs-boson decays using data collected in Run 3 of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). These studies offer deep insights into how closely the Higgs boson’s behaviour aligns with the Standard Model.
The first process under study was the Higgs-boson decay into a pair of muons (H→μμ). Despite its scarceness – occurring in just 1 out of every 5000 Higgs decays – this process provides the best opportunity to study the Higgs interaction with second-generation fermions and shed light on the origin of mass across different generations. The second investigated process was the Higgs-boson decay into a Z boson and a photon (H→Zγ), where the Z boson subsequently decays into electron or muon pairs. This rare decay is especially intriguing, as it proceeds via an intermediate “loop” of virtual particles. If new particles contribute to this loop, the process could offer hints of physics beyond the Standard Model.
Looking for needles in a haystack
Identifying these rare decays is quite the challenge. For H→μμ, researchers looked for a small excess of events clustering near a muon-pair mass of 125 GeV (the mass of the Higgs boson). This signal can be easily hidden behind the thousands of muon pairs produced through other processes (“background”).
The H→Zγ decay is even harder to isolate, as the chances of spotting its signal are complicated by the fact that the Z boson only decays into detectable leptons about 6% of the time. Compounding the challenge are the operation conditions of LHC Run 3, which features more overlapping collisions, making it easier for particle jets to mimic real photons.
To boost the sensitivity of their searches, ATLAS physicists combined the first three years of Run-3 data (165 fb-1, collected between 2022-2024) with the full Run-2 dataset (140 fb-1, from 2015-2018). They also developed a sophisticated method to better model background processes, categorised recorded events by the specific Higgs-production modes, and made further improvements to their event-selection techniques in order to maximize the likelihood of spotting genuine signals.
Finding evidence and enhancing sensitivity
In the previous search for H→μμ using the full Run-2 dataset, the ATLAS Collaboration saw its first hint of this process at the level of 2 standard deviations. The comparable CMS result reached an observed (expected) significance of 3 (2.5) standard deviations. Now, with the combined Run-2 and Run-3 datasets, the ATLAS Collaboration has found evidence for H→μμ with an observed (expected) significance over the background-only hypothesis of 3.4 (2.5) standard deviations. This means that the chance that the result is a statistical fluctuation is less than one in 3000!
As for the H→Zγ process, a previous ATLAS and CMS combined analysis used Run-2 data to find evidence of this decay mode. It reported an observed (expected) excess over the background-only hypothesis of 3.4 (1.6) standard deviations. The latest ATLAS result, combining Run-2 and Run-3 data, reported an observed (expected) excess over the background-only hypothesis of 2.5 (1.9) standard deviations. This outcome provides the most stringent expected sensitivity to date for measuring the decay probability (“branching fraction”) of H→Zγ.
These achievements were made possible by the large, excellent dataset provided by the LHC, the outstanding efficiency and performance of the ATLAS experiment, and the use of novel analysis techniques. With more data on the horizon, the journey of exploration continues!
NASA is kicking off the 2026 Student Launch challenge, looking for new student teams to design, build, and launch high-powered rockets with a scientific or engineering payload next April.
The agency is seeking proposals until Monday, Sept. 22. Details about this year’s challenge are in the 2026 handbook, which outlines the requirements for middle school, high school, and college students to participate. After a competitive proposal selection process, selected teams must meet documentation milestones and undergo detailed reviews throughout the activity year.
“These bright students rise to a nine-month challenge for Student Launch that tests their skills in engineering, design, and teamwork,” said Kevin McGhaw, director of NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement Southeast Region. “They are part of the Golden Age of explorers – the future scientists, engineers, and innovators who will lead us into the future of space exploration.”
Student Launch will culminate with on-site events starting on April 22, 2026. Final launches are scheduled for April 25, at Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Each year, NASA updates the university payload challenge to reflect current scientific and exploration missions. For the 2026 season, the payload challenge will take inspiration from the Artemis missions, which seek to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, technology advancement, and to learn how to live and work on another world as we prepare for human missions to Mars. This year’s payload challenge tasks college and university teams with designing, building, and flying a habitat to safely house four STEMnauts – non-living objects representing astronauts – during extended missions. The habitat must include equipment capable of both collecting and testing soil samples to support agricultural research operations.
Nearly 1,000 students participated in the 2025 Student Launch competition – making up 71 teams from across the United States. Teams launched their rockets to an altitude between 4,000 and 6,000 feet, while attempting to make a successful landing and executing the payload mission.
Former NASA Marshall Director Art Stephenson started Student Launch in 2000 as a student rocket competition at the center. Just two university teams competed in the inaugural challenge – Alabama A&M University and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The challenge continues to soar with thousands of students participating in the STEM competition each year, and many going on to a career with NASA.
NASA Marshall’s Office of STEM Engagement hosts Student Launch to provide students with real-world experiences that encourage them to pursue degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Student Launch is one of several NASA Artemis Student Challenges – a variety of activities that expose students to the knowledge and technology required to achieve the goals of the agency’s Artemis campaign.
In addition to NASA Office of STEM Engagement’s Next Generation STEM project, NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate, Northrop Grumman, National Space Club Huntsville, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Association of Rocketry, Relativity Space and, Bastion Technologies provide funding and leadership for the Student Launch competition.
To learn more about Student Launch, visit: www.nasa.gov/studentlaunch
Landsat, a joint program of NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), has been an invaluable tool for monitoring changes in Earth’s land surface for over 50 years. Researchers use instruments on Landsat satellites to monitor decades-long trends, including urbanization and agricultural expansion, as well as short-term dynamics, including water use and disaster recovery. However, scientists and land managers often encounter one critical limitation of this program: Landsat has a revisit time of eight days (with Landsat 8 and 9 operating), which is too long to capture events and disasters that occur on short timescales. Floods, for example, can quickly inundate a region, and cloud cover from storms can delay Landsat’s ability to get a clear observation on damage.
In 2015, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-2A mission joined Landsat 7 and 8 in orbit. It was designed to collect comparable optical land data with the intention of leveraging Landsat’s archive. Two years later, ESA launched Sentinel-2B, a satellite identical to Sentinel-2A.
Led by a science team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), the USGS, NASA, and ESA began to work on combining the capabilities of Sentinel-2 and Landsat satellites. This idea was the impetus behind Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) project, a NASA initiative that created a seamless product from the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI) aboard Landsat and Sentinel-2 satellites, respectively. HLS Version 2.0 (V2.0) is the most recent version of these data and had a global median repeat frequency of 1.6 days in 2022 by combining observations from Landsat 8 and 9 and Sentinel-2A and B. The recent addition of Sentinel-2C data will provide even more frequent observations. With near-global coverage and improved harmonization algorithms, HLS V2.0 paves the way for new applications and improved land monitoring systems – see Animation 1. HLS data are available for download on NASA Earthdata: HLSL30v2.0 and HLSS30v2.0. These data can also be accessed through Google Earth Engine: HLSL30v2.0 and HLSS30v2.0.
The Dawn of HLS
The story of HLS begins before the launch of Sentinel-2A in 2015. Jeffrey Masek [GSFC], who was at that time project scientist for Landsat 8, led a group of researchers who wanted to find a way to harmonize Landsat data with other satellite data. Their aim was to create a “virtual constellation” similar to how weather satellites operate.
“HLS meets a need that people have been asking for for a long time,” said Masek.
What began as a research question with an experimental product evolved into an operational project with the involvement of the Satellite Needs Working Group (SNWG). SNWG is an interagency effort to develop solutions that address Earth observation needs of civilian federal agencies. Every two years, SNWG conducts a survey of federal agencies to see how their work could benefit from satellite data. The answers span the gamut of application areas, from water quality monitoring to disaster recovery to planning how best to protect and use natural resources. SNWG brings these ideas to NASA, USGS, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – the three main U.S. government providers of satellite data. These agencies work together to create and implement solutions that serve those needs. NASA plays a critical role in every step of the SNWG process, including leading the assessment of survey responses from over 30 federal agencies, managing and supporting the implementation of identified solutions, and encouraging solution co-design with federal partners to maximize impact.
The HLS surface reflectance product was an outcome of the very first SNWG solution cycle in 2016. This product was expanded, following additional SNWG requests in 2020 and 2022. The 2020 cycle saw the creation of nine HLS-derived vegetation indices, and the 2022 cycle aimed for a six-hour latency product.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) now uses HLS to map crop emergence at the field scale in the corn belt, allowing farmers to better plan their growing seasons. Ranchers in Colorado use the dataset to decide where to graze their cattle during periods of drought. HLS also informs the use and termination of cover crops in the Chesapeake Bay area. In 2024, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employed HLS to identify where to focus aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
A New and Improved HLS
In the July 2025 issue of Remote Sensing of Environment, a team of researchers outlined the HLS V2.0 surface reflectance dataset and algorithms. The team included seven NASA co-authors, members of the 2018–2023 Landsat Science Team, and ESA. The lead author, Junchang Ju [GSFC—Remote Sensing Scientist], has been the technical lead on HLS since its inception. Co-author Christopher Neigh [GSFC—Landsat 8/9 Project Scientist] is the principal investigator on the HLS project. V2.0, which was completed in Summer 2023, incorporates several major improvements over HLS V1.4, the most recent publicly available HLS product. HLS V1.4 covered about 30% of the global land area, providing data on North America and other select locations. HLS V2.0 provides data at a spatial resolution of 30 m (98 ft) with near-global coverage from 2013 onward. The dataset includes all land masses except Antarctica. HLS V2.0 also has key algorithmic improvements in atmospheric correction, cloud masking, and bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) correction. Together, these algorithms “harmonize” the data, or ensure that the distinct Landsat and Sentinel-2 datasets can effectively be used interchangeably – see Animation 2.
HLS V2.0 in Action
The increased frequency of observations improved the ability of the scientific community to track disaster recovery, changes in phenology, agricultural intensification, rapid urban growth, logging, and deforestation. Researchers are already putting these advances to use.
The land disturbance product (DIST-ALERT) is a global land change monitoring system that uses HLS V2.0 data to track vegetation anomalies in near real-time – see Figure 1. DIST-ALERT captures agricultural expansion, urban growth, fire, flooding, logging, drought, landslides, and other forces of change to vegetation. Amy Pickens [University of Maryland, Department of Geographical Sciences—Assistant Research Professor] said that HLS is the perfect dataset for tracking disturbances because of the frequency of observations.
DIST-ALERT was created through Observational Products for End-Users from Remote Sensing Analysis (OPERA), a project at NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). OPERA products respond to agency needs identified by the SNWG. In 2018, SNWG identified tracking surface disturbance as a key need. OPERA partnered with the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) lab at University of Maryland to develop the change detection algorithm.
To track changes in vegetation, the DIST-ALERT system establishes a rolling baseline – meaning that for any given pixel, the vegetation cover is compared against vegetation cover from the same 31-day window in the previous three years. The primary algorithm detects any vegetation loss relative to the established baseline. A secondary algorithm flags any spectral anomaly (i.e., any change in reflectance) compared to that same baseline. This approach ensures that the algorithm catches non-vegetation change (e.g., new building or road projects in unvegetated areas). Used together, these algorithms can identify long-term changes in agricultural expansion, deforestation, and urbanization alongside short-term changes in crop harvest, drought, selective logging, and the impacts of disasters. On average, DIST-ALERT is made available on LP DAAC within six hours of when new HLS data is available. Currently, the dataset does not provide attribution to disturbances.
Disturbance alerts already exist in some ecosystems. Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research [Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)] runs two projects that detect deforestation in the Amazon: Programa de Cálculo do Desflorestamento da Amazônia (PRODES) and Sistema de Detecção de Desmatamento em Tempo Real (DETER). The GLAD lab created its own forest loss alerts – GLAD-L and GLAD-S2 – using Landsat and Sentinel-2 data respectively. Global Forest Watch integrates GLAD-L and GLAD-S2 data with Radar for Detecting Deforestation (RADD) observations – derived from synthetic aperture radar data from Copernicus Sentinel-1 – into an integrated deforestation alert.
The implementation of these alert systems, some of which have been around for decades, have been shown to impact deforestation rates in the tropics. For example, a 2021 study in Nature Climate Change found that deforestation alerts decreased the probability of deforestation in Central Africa by 18% relative to the average 2011–2016 levels.
DIST-ALERT is distinct from other alert systems in a few ways. First, it has global coverage. Second, the rolling baseline allows for tracking changes in seasonality and disturbances to dynamic ecosystems. When HLS V2.0 data are input to DIST-ALERT, the system is also better at identifying disturbances in cloudy ecosystems than other individual alert systems – because it is more likely to obtain clear observations. This also enables it to identify the start and end of the disturbance more precisely.
Pickens said that the DIST-ALERT team is already working with end-users who are implementing their data product. She has spoken to some who use the system to help logging companies prove that they are complying with regulations. The U.S. Census Bureau is also using DIST-ALERT to monitor fast-growing communities so that they can do targeted assessments in the interim between the larger decennial census.
Alongside DIST-ALERT, OPERA has also been developing the Dynamic Surface Water eXtent (DSWx) product suite, which employs HLS to track surface water (e.g., lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and floods) around the globe – see Figure 2. These new products represent the new applications made possible by the HLS interagency and international collaboration.
Conclusion
HLS is set to continue improving land monitoring efforts across the globe. Meanwhile, the HLS science team is working to improve the algorithms for a more seamless harmonization of Landsat 8 and 9 and Sentinel-2 data. They are also working to improve the cloud-masking algorithm, have recently released vegetation indices, and are working on developing a low-latency (six-hour) HLS surface reflectance product, all while incorporating user feedback.
Looking ahead, the launch of future Sentinel and Landsat satellites will further the development of HLS. The additional data and unique capabilities will continue to meet researchers’ need for more frequent, high-quality satellite observations of Earth’s land surface.
Madeleine Gregory NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Science Systems and Applications Inc. madeleine.s.gregory@nasa.gov
The view of Great Salt Lake’s North Arm from Gunnison Island, which has long served as a nesting ground for pelicans. Credit: Brian Maffly, University of Utah
For thousands of years, Utah’s Great Salt Lake reflected only natural shifts in climate and water flow. But fresh sediment analyses show that in just two centuries, human activity forced the lake into states unseen for millennia.
For thousands of years, Utah’s Great Salt Lake has responded to shifts in climate and water supply. But new research using sediment isotope analysis shows that in just the past two centuries, human activity has driven the lake into a chemical state not seen for at least 2,000 years.
A geoscientist at the University of Utah studied sediments from the lakebed to trace how the lake and its watershed have changed since the time it took its modern form, after the immense freshwater Lake Bonneville receded and left behind today’s Great Salt Lake.
What Sediments Reveal About Ecosystems
“Lakes are great integrators. They’re a point of focus for water, for sediments, and also for carbon and nutrients,” said Gabriel Bowen, a professor and chairman of the Department of Geology & Geophysics. “We can go to lakes like this and look at their sediments, and they tell us a lot about the surrounding landscape.”
According to Bowen’s study, published last month in Geophysical Research Letters, sediment records help place today’s rapid changes in perspective. These natural archives offer crucial insights into the past behavior of terminal saline lakes, which sustain delicate yet essential ecosystems, and they may also guide future efforts to manage and protect them.
Human Arrival Alters the Landscape
This research helps fill critical gaps in the lake’s geological and hydrological records, coming at a time when the drought-depleted level of the terminal body has been hovering near its historic low.
“We have all these great observations, so much monitoring, so much information and interest in what’s happening today. We also have a legacy of people looking at the huge changes in the lake that happened over tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of years,” Bowen said. “What we’ve been missing is the scale in the middle.”
That is the time spanning the first arrival of white settlers in Utah, but after Lake Bonneville receded to become the Great Salt Lake.
Isotope Analysis Unlocks the Lake’s Story
By analyzing oxygen and carbon isotopes preserved in lake sediments, the study reconstructs the lake’s water and carbon budgets through time. Two distinct, human-driven shifts stand out:
Mid-19th century – Coinciding with Mormon settlement in 1847, irrigation rapidly greened the landscape around the lake, increasing the flow of organic matter into the lake and altering its carbon cycle.
Mid-20th century – Construction of the railroad causeway in 1959 disrupted water flow between the lake’s north and south arms, which turned Gilbert Bay from a terminal lake to an open one that partially drained into Gunnison Bay, altering the salinity and water balance to values rarely seen in thousands of years.
The new study examines two sets of sediment cores extracted from the bed of Great Salt Lake, each representing different timescales. The top 10 meters of the first core, drilled in the year 2000 south of Fremont Island, contains sediments washed into the lake up to 8,000 years ago.
Evidence Buried in the Lakebed
The other samples, recovered by the U.S. Geological Survey, represent only the upper 30 centimeters of sediments, deposited in the last few hundred years.
“The first gives us a look at what was happening for the 8,000 years before the settlers showed up here,” Bowen said. “The second are these shallower cores that allow us to see how the lake changed after the arrival of the settlers.”
Bowen subjected these lakebed sediments at varying depths to an analysis that determines isotope ratios of carbon and oxygen, shedding light on the landscape surrounding the lake and the water in the lake at varying points in the past.
Tracking Carbon Through Time
“The carbon tells us about the biogeochemistry, about how the carbon cycles through the lake, and that’s affected by things like weathering of rocks that bring carbon to the lake and the vegetation in the watershed, which also contributes carbon that dissolves into the water and flows to the lake,” he said.
Bowen’s analysis documented a sharp change in carbon, indicating profound changes that coincided with the arrival of Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley, where they introduced irrigated agriculture to support a rapidly growing community.
“We see a big shift in the carbon isotopes, and it shifts from values that are more indicative of rock weathering, carbon coming into the lake from dissolving limestone, toward more organic sources, more vegetation sources,” Bowen said.
The new carbon balance after settlement was unprecedented during the 8,000 years of record following the demise of Lake Bonneville.
Oxygen Isotopes and Water Balance
Next, Bowen’s oxygen isotope analysis reconstructed the lake’s water balance over time.
“Essentially, it tells us about the balance of evaporation and water inflow into the lake. As the lake is expanding, the oxygen isotope ratio goes down. As the lake shrinks, it goes up, basically telling us about the rate of change of the lake volume. We see little fluctuations, but nothing major until we get to 1959.”
That’s the year Union Pacific built a 20-mile causeway to replace a historic rail trestle, dividing the lake’s North Arm, which has no tributaries, from its South Arm, also known as Gilbert Bay, which receives inflow from three rivers. Water flows through a gap in the causeway into North Arm, now rendering the South Arm an open system.
“We changed the hydrology of the lake fundamentally and gave it an outflow. We see that really clearly in the oxygen isotopes, which start behaving in a different way,” he said. Counterintuitively, the impact of this change was to make Gilbert Bay waters fresher than they would have been otherwise, buying time to deal with falling lake levels and increasing salinity due to other causes.
Reversing Thousands of Years of Decline
“If we look at the longer time scale, 8,000 years, the lake has mostly been pinned at a high evaporation state. It’s been essentially in a shrinking, consolidating state throughout that time. And that only reversed when we put in the causeway.”
Reference: “Multi-Millennial Context for Post-Colonial Hydroecological Change in Great Salt Lake” by Gabriel J. Bowen, 22 July 2025, Geophysical Research Letters. DOI: 10.1029/2025GL116597
Never miss a breakthrough: Join the SciTechDaily newsletter.
Clothing that adapts to one’s needs and senses the external habitat. A lunar lava tunnel that uses bacteria, plants and fungi to create sustainable human habitats within otherwise unlivable places. Buildings grown from living things.
Such inventions may define the future, as Cornell scientists work towards engineering plants and other organisms to grow into biodegradable usable forms. But first, they need to understand the basics of how cell walls control plant growth.
A new study that uses the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana takes an important early step in this direction. Bridging the fields of plant biology and mechanical engineering, the study investigated the mechanical properties of cell walls, such as how they stretch and rebound, elongate without returning to form, and thin out when stretched. The paper was published Aug. 14 in Nature Communications.
“By understanding cell wall mechanics related to plant development, we may one day engineer plants to grow materials with desired shape and size, such as biodegradable package materials formed directly by the plant itself,” said Si Chen, an Engineered Living Materials Institute (ELMI) Postdoctoral Fellow, and the paper’s first author. The interdisciplinary ELMI, which launched three years ago and includes biologists, engineers and architects, aims to research and develop new functional and sustainable materials from plants, and other living organisms, such as fungi and bacteria.
When plants grow, their primary cell walls, which form the plant cell’s outer layer, are involved in growth, while secondary cell walls make the structures hard once growth has ceased. This study focused on the growing stage and properties of primary cell walls.
Chen innovated experimental designs to collect data on how much force it takes to stretch the walls, and how much thinner the walls become when elongated.
“If we can engineer plants to change their form during their growth phase before it lays down the secondary cell wall, we could form something that’s hard with structure based on the outer layer,” said Adrienne Roeder, professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science Plant Biology Section and the Weill Institute for Cell Biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a senior author of the study.
Chen also investigated the plant’s developmental timeframe, to understand how mechanical properties change when leaves are growing fast versus when they slow down and stop growing. And she tested cell wall mechanical properties in a mutant Arabidopsis, called spiral 2, which twists as it grows, so she could evaluate the properties of how cell wall material is laid down as it spirals.
She also made a simple model to help her further discern mechanical behaviors, using five beams, representing cellulose fibers, connected in a four-sided diamond shape with a cross beam to conceptualize cell-wall architecture. Using this model, she showed how the beam behaviors (bending, reorienting, stretching, slipping) and how the connectors between these beams contribute to the overall mechanical response.
“It’s the connections between these beams that are really critical,” Roeder said. “It points us towards really focusing on those connector points when we engineer materials in the future.”
The study’s senior co-author is Meredith Silberstein, professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell Engineering and founder and director of ELMI, while Roeder serves as associate director. Co-authors include Isabella Burda, Ph.D. ’25 (ELMI and Weill Institute); Purvil Jani, M.S. ’20, Ph.D. ’25 (School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering); and Bex Pendrak ‘22 (ELMI and mechanical and aerospace engineering).
The study was funded by ELMI, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and Chen’s Sam and Nancy Fleming Postdoctoral Fellowship.
“Our capsule’s engines are not pointed in the right direction for optimum boost,” said Sarah Walker, SpaceX’s director of Dragon mission management. “So, this trunk module has engines pointed in the right direction to maximize efficiency of propellant usage.”
When NASA says it’s the right time, SpaceX controllers will command the Draco thrusters to ignite and gently accelerate the massive 450-ton complex. All told, the reboost kit can add about 20 mph, or 9 meters per second, to the space station’s already-dizzying speed, according to Walker.
Spetch said that’s roughly equivalent to the total reboost impulse provided by one-and-a-half Russian Progress cargo vehicles. That’s about one-third to one-fourth of the total orbit maintenance the ISS needs in a year.
“The boost kit will help sustain the orbiting lab’s altitude, starting in September, with a series of burns planned periodically throughout the fall of 2025,” Spetch said.
After a few months docked at the ISS, the Dragon cargo capsule will depart and head for a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. SpaceX will recover the pressurized capsule to fly again, while the trunk containing the reboost kit will jettison and burn up in the atmosphere.
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft approaches the International Space Station for docking at 7:05 am EDT (11:05 UTC) on Monday.
Credit:
NASA TV/Ars Technica
While this mission is SpaceX’s 33rd cargo flight to the ISS under the auspices of NASA’s multibillion-dollar Commercial Resupply Services contract, it’s also SpaceX’s 50th overall Dragon mission to the outpost. This tally includes 17 flights of the human-rated Crew Dragon.
“With CRS-33, we’ll mark our 50th voyage to ISS,” Walker said. “Just incredible. Together, these missions have (carried) well over 300,000 pounds of cargo and supplies to the orbiting lab and well over 1,000 science and research projects that are not only helping us to understand how to live and work effectively in space… but also directly contributing to critical research that serves our lives here on Earth.”
Future Dragon trunks will be able to accommodate a reboost kit or unpressurized science payloads, depending on NASA’s needs at the space station.
The design of the Dragon reboost kit is a smaller-scale version of what SpaceX will build for a much larger Dragon trunk under a $843 million contract signed with NASA last year for the US Deorbit Vehicle. This souped-up Dragon will dock with the ISS and steer it back into the atmosphere after the lab’s decommissioning in the early 2030s. The deorbit vehicle will have 46 Draco thrusters—16 to control the craft’s orientation and 30 in the trunk to provide the impulse needed to drop the station out of orbit.
But in some ways, the proof was a bit unsatisfying. Jitomirskaya and Avila had used a method that only applied to certain irrational values of alpha. By combining it with an intermediate proof that came before it, they could say the problem was solved. But this combined proof wasn’t elegant. It was a patchwork quilt, each square stitched out of distinct arguments.
Moreover, the proofs only settled the conjecture as it was originally stated, which involved making simplifying assumptions about the electron’s environment. More realistic situations are messier: Atoms in a solid are arranged in more complicated patterns, and magnetic fields aren’t quite constant. “You’ve verified it for this one model, but what does that have to do with reality?” said Simon Becker, a mathematician at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich.
These more realistic situations require you to tweak the part of the Schrödinger equation where alpha appears. And when you do, the ten martini proof stops working. “This was always disturbing to me,” Jitomirskaya said.
The breakdown of the proof in these broader contexts also implied that the beautiful fractal patterns that had emerged — the Cantor sets, the Hofstadter butterfly — were nothing more than a mathematical curiosity, something that would disappear once the equation was made more realistic.
Avila and Jitomirskaya moved on to other problems. Even Hofstadter had doubts. If an experiment ever saw his butterfly, he’d written in Gödel, Escher, Bach, “I would be the most surprised person in the world.”
But in 2013, a group of physicists at Columbia University captured his butterfly in a lab. They placed two thin layers of graphene in a magnetic field, then measured the energy levels of the graphene’s electrons. The quantum fractal emerged in all its glory. “Suddenly it went from a figment of the mathematician’s imagination to something practical,” Jitomirskaya said. “It became very unsettling.”
She wanted to explain it with mathematics. And a new collaborator had an idea for how to do it.
Another Round, With a Twist
In 2019, Lingrui Ge joined Jitomirskaya’s group. He had been inspired by the work she and Avila had done on the ten martini problem, as well as by a direction of research that Avila had been trying to pursue ever since.
Avila had grown tired of the piecemeal approaches that mathematicians used to understand almost-periodic functions. He instead began to develop what he called a “global theory” — a way to uncover higher-level structure in all sorts of almost-periodic functions, which he could then use to solve entire classes of functions in one go.
Jhumku Kohtz, PhD, research professor in the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology’s Divison of Comprehensive Neurology and senior author of the study.
A new study has revealed that a long non-coding RNA plays a far more extensive role in regulating gene expression than previously understood, according to findings published in Nature Communications.
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNA molecules that do not encode proteins, which led to their dismissal by many scientists as unimportant as it relates to DNA processes. For years, laboratories lacked the tools to study these molecules, and their roles in cellular processes remained obscure. However, the new study demonstrates that lncRNAs are far from inert, said Jhumku Kohtz, PhD, research professor in the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology‘s Divison of Comprehensive Neurology and senior author of the study.
“When I began this work, long non-coding RNAs were considered non-functional products of ‘junk’ DNA, or ‘dark matter,’” Kohtz said. “This report is an extension of our work over the last two decades on Evf2, an lncRNA that regulates gene expression and brain development.”
In the current study, scientists analyzed Evf2 during brain development in mouse embryos. Using single-cell transcriptomics, investigators found that Evf2 “guides” an enhancer to chromosomal sites that influence gene expression.
The new details of Evf2 activity reveal a sophisticated system of gene regulation that activates and represses genes, some of which are linked to seizure susceptibility and adult brain function, Kohtz said.
The findings offer new insight into one of biology’s central questions: how genes are selected for expression to create distinct cell types.
“One of the key questions in the field of biology is how genes, arranged on linear chromosomes, are selected for expression,” Kohtz said. “Here, we define roles for Evf2 direct RNA binding, specific RNA binding proteins and DNA sequences in selective gene regulation. A surprising outcome is that Evf2 RNA binding patterns across each chromosome are distinct, revealing a potentially novel chromosome organizing principle.”
This principle may represent a new layer of genomic architecture, Kohtz said. The study also highlights Evf2’s regulation of a network of seizure-related genes in the embryonic brain, which could influence adult circuitry and seizure susceptibility.
Looking ahead, Kohtz and her collaborators plan to continue studying Evf2 and how it contributes to chromosomal organization. The team also hopes to understand how Evf2 functions in human brains, she said.
The study was supported by National Institute of Mental Health grants R01MH111267, R03MH126145 and RF1AG068140.
9 Years of Going Farther—Because You Never Stopped.
NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — NORTIV 8, the American outdoor and work footwear brand trusted by millions, is marking its 9th anniversary with the release of an ambitious new lineup that redefines comfort, durability, accessibility, and performance across hiking, trail running, work safety, and tactical footwear. At the center is the Armadillo 3, the upgraded evolution of its most iconic hiking boot, joined by new Wide Toe Box hikers and tactical boots and a next-generation Nano Composite Toe work line.
NORTIV 8 marks its 9th anniversary with the debut of the all-new Armadillo 3, an upgraded evolution of its iconic hiking boot, alongside a comprehensive expansion into wide toe box hikers, tactical boots, and next-generation nano composite work gear, reinforcing its commitment to innovation, durability, and performance for adventurers and professionals alike.
To mark its ninth anniversary, NORTIV 8 is rolling out a limited-time celebration for adventurers and professionals alike: a 72-hour flash event from August 29–31 with up to 50% off select styles, followed by sitewide savings of 20% from September 1–15. Don’t miss this chance to step into the latest innovations and all-time favorites—once the clock runs out, the deals are gone.
New Styles: Innovation Meets Performance
Building on nearly a decade of design expertise, NORTIV 8’s new collection pushes boundaries in comfort, durability, and versatility. Each style is engineered to meet the demands of trails, job sites, and urban environments, combining advanced materials, thoughtful construction, and high-performance technology.
Classic Hiking Style
Armadillo 3 Hiking Boots – Trail Conqueror
At the forefront of the new collection is the Armadillo 3, a complete upgrade to one of NORTIV 8’s most iconic hikers. Powered by SGS-certified Waterproof-Pro technology, it withstands more than 15,000 dynamic test cycles without seepage, crushing the static standards of its predecessor. A newly engineered outsole with four traction zones locks onto mud, rock, and scree with unwavering grip, while a retooled EVA midsole cuts 18% of the weight and delivers 13% more rebound for faster, easier climbs. Durability surges ahead too, with a 30% stronger outsole and superior traction across wet and dry terrain. Reinforced with a TPU skeletal frame, armored toe cap, and secure ankle wrap, the Armadillo 3 isn’t just built for the trail—it’s built to conquer it.
Wide Toe Box Collection
Whitney – Wide Toe Box Trail Runner
For runners who crave freedom and comfort, the Whitney delivers a natural fit with its roomy wide toe box—allowing toes to spread for stability and forward propulsion whether on city pavement or rugged trails. A breathable Jacquard mesh upper keeps air flowing and sweat under control, while the cushioned arch-support insole and lightweight EVA midsole absorb shock mile after mile, making it an especially supportive choice for heavier runners. Beneath it all, a grippy rubber outsole with 4mm lugs ensures dependable traction and sheds mud with ease. With its streamlined silhouette and Rocky Mountain–inspired colorways, the Whitney is a trail shoe that looks as good as it performs, built for those who move between workouts, trail runs, and daily commutes.
Katahdin – Wide Toe Box Waterproof Hiking Boot
Designed for explorers who value both comfort and capability, the Katahdin hiking boot combines a wide toe box for natural toe splay with a 5mm low-drop design that promotes balance and reduces strain on the forefoot. A built-in waterproof membrane—tested to withstand the toughest conditions—keeps feet dry and ready for unpredictable trails. Durable craftsmanship is at the heart of the boot, blending premium leather, rugged nylon, and TPU support to stand up to long-distance treks. A thick EVA midsole delivers responsive cushioning with every step, while the lugged rubber outsole grips confidently on rocky paths and slippery slopes. Whether navigating mountain switchbacks or weekend trailheads, the Katahdin is built to keep pace with adventure.
Pikes – Wide Toe Box Tactical Boot
Blending tactical toughness with everyday wearability, the Pikes boot gives working professionals and outdoor enthusiasts the edge they need. Its wide toe box promotes natural alignment and comfort for long hours on foot, while the 5mm low-drop design encourages a more balanced, natural stride. A side zipper with hook-and-loop strap makes on-and-off effortless yet secure, ensuring the boot stays snug during demanding movement. Built from premium leather and wear-resistant nylon mesh, the Pikes offers durability without excess weight, enhanced by a shock-absorbing EVA midsole for responsive comfort. The rugged rubber outsole grips across varied terrain while resisting mud buildup—making it a reliable choice for security staff, couriers, factory workers, and anyone who needs a boot tough enough for the job yet comfortable enough for all-day wear.
Work Boots & Industrial Protection
VaporGuard-nano – Nano Composite Toe Work Boot
The VaporGuard-nano redefines what a work boot can do, blending lightweight agility with uncompromising protection. Featuring a Nano Composite Toe, it delivers ASTM-certified impact and electrical hazard resistance while shaving pounds off the traditional steel-toe design. A built-in waterproof membrane keeps feet dry in puddles, shallow streams, or muddy job sites, while the responsive EVA midsole and arch-support insole reduce fatigue, even during long hours on concrete floors. Engineered for warehouse staff, couriers, and trade professionals, the VaporGuard-nano ensures every step is cushioned, supported, and ready for action—making demanding days feel a little easier.
Metrostrike-nano – Heavy-Duty Nano Composite Toe
For those facing the toughest jobs, the Metrostrike-nano combines rugged durability with all-day comfort. Its reinforced TPU upper stands up to abrasions and harsh environments, while a lugged, slip-resistant outsole grips oil, water, and debris to keep every step secure. A convenient side zipper offers quick access without compromising a snug fit, and the Nano Composite Toe shields toes from impact and compression while staying unaffected by extreme temperatures. Lightweight yet resilient, the Metrostrike-nano is purpose-built for construction workers, electricians, and heavy-duty professionals who demand protection, performance, and agility in every move.
Honoring the Classics: The Core Collection
Beyond the new releases, NORTIV 8 continues to build on a foundation of bestsellers that have won loyal fans across hiking, work, and tactical categories:
Armadillo – The Original Trail Icon: Built for all-terrain reliability, Armadillo features cushioned EVA midsoles and non-slip rubber outsoles that provide comfort and traction across varied landscapes. Lightweight yet durable, these hiking boots are ideal for weekend treks, long-distance hikes, or everyday outdoor adventures.
Paladin – Waterproof Hiking with Stability: Designed for explorers who demand protection, Paladin combines a reinforced heel, protective toe, premium suede leather, and rugged MDT outsole to offer excellent grip on slippery or uneven trails, keeping feet secure and dry throughout every adventure.
Seeker – Trail-Ready Style for Women: Blending functionality with a feminine silhouette, Seeker features lightweight cushioning, breathable mesh, and supportive midsoles, ensuring comfort and stability during extended hikes while maintaining a stylish, trail-ready look.
DriftShield – Versatile Lightweight Outdoor Boot: Crafted from leather, faux suede, and Oxford fabric, DriftShield offers durable waterproof protection and a supportive fit, perfect for weekend hikes, travel, or long days of outdoor work.
HydroTrek – High-Top Wet-Condition Hiker: Built for challenging wet environments, HydroTrek offers four-hour static waterproofing, a gusseted tongue to keep out debris, and stable support for navigating streams, rivers, and slippery terrain.
Fern – Rugged and Reliable Outdoor Boot: Combining Oxford-and-PU construction with four-hour waterproof testing and debris protection, Fern provides stability and practicality for both outdoor work and adventurous trails.
Paladin-steel – Industrial-Grade Steel-Toe Protection: A robust steel-toe variant of Paladin, offering ASTM-rated safety, reinforced support, and waterproof performance, ideal for construction sites, warehouses, and heavy-duty workplaces.
Terrascope – Lightweight Military Boot for Long Shifts: Designed for professionals on patrol or demanding job sites, Terrascope features a responsive ETPU outsole, inside zipper for convenience, and long-lasting comfort and traction.
Recon – Tactical Impact-Resistant Boot: Crafted from genuine leather and durable textiles, Recon offers a cushioned MD midsole, impact-resistant build, and all-day support for tactical operations and rugged outdoor activities.
Defender – Waterproof Military Boot with Shock Absorption: Combining reinforced rubber toe, EVA-rubber midsole, and slip-resistant outsole, Defender provides stability, protection, and comfort across rugged or slippery terrain.
Metrostrike – Reliable Industrial and Tactical Boot: With responsive EVA cushioning, breathable mesh lining, and Oxford construction, Metrostrike ensures all-day comfort and support for industrial and tactical environments.
Trooper – Abrasion-Resistant Tactical Boot: Engineered for tough conditions, Trooper features dual-sole shock absorption, slip-resistant performance, and durable leather construction for demanding outdoor and tactical use.
Step Into the Next Chapter with NORTIV 8
As NORTIV 8 celebrates nine years of innovation, the brand continues to empower adventurers, professionals, and everyday explorers to move farther with confidence, comfort, and style. From the trail-ready precision of Armadillo 3 to the rugged reliability of work and tactical boots, every design reflects a commitment to performance, protection, enduring quality, and accessibility. Whether navigating city streets, challenging trails, or demanding job sites, NORTIV 8 delivers footwear that elevates every step. Discover the perfect boot or shoe this anniversary and take advantage of limited-time savings to join those who never stopped going further.
Explore the Full Lineup
Discover NORTIV 8’s latest innovations and timeless classics at its Amazon store and official website. Take advantage of the anniversary flash sale on NORTIV 8’s official website from August 29–31, with up to 50% off select styles, followed by 20% sitewide savings through September 15–31. Step farther. Work harder. Explore longer. With NORTIV 8, every step counts.
About NORTIV 8
NORTIV 8 is a leading footwear brand delivering high-performance athletic, outdoor, and work shoes designed for real-world adventure. Combining rugged durability, innovative technology, and modern design, each style offers exceptional value and accessibility for adventurers, professionals, and everyday explorers. Built to perform on trails, job sites, and city streets, NORTIV 8 empowers every step with comfort, resilience, and confidence.
