GoKawiil
Tech News
A new bioRxiv preprint analysed DNA methylation patterns in transplanted human hearts and found that, months after surgery, the tissue's biological age markers shifted to resemble the recipient's age rather than the donor's. Researchers observed this effect in both directions: young hearts placed in older bodies appeared to age faster, while older hearts in younger bodies appeared to grow biologically younger.
Graham Farmelo's book 'Hawking: His Life and Work' (John Murray, 2026) chronicles the physicist's scientific achievements alongside his personal struggles, including his motor neuron disease diagnosis, two marriages ending, and his relationships with students and colleagues. The review, written by a physicist who was a close friend of Hawking's from 1996 while working together at the University of Cambridge, praises the book's research and readability.
Two decades after the International Astronomical Union voted in 2006 to reclassify Pluto as a dwarf planet, a vocal group of scientists, historians and enthusiasts continue to push back against that decision. Critics like Philip Metzger of the University of Central Florida argue the IAU's planetary definition is scientifically unworkable, while others such as writer Laurel Kornfeld have campaigned against the ruling since the day it was announced. The dispute remains largely an American phenomenon, tied partly to national pride since Pluto was discovered by a US astronomer in 1930.