Award and Honors

  A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off from Mahia, New Zealand, to begin the ‘Follow My Speed’ mission on Nov. 20, 2025. Image: Rocket Lab Earth observation company BlackSky revealed it was the ‘confidential customer’ whose satellite flew on a recent Rocket Lab Electron rocket. A BlackSky spokesperson confirmed to Spaceflight Now on Tuesday that its Gen-3 satellite was the payload onboard. The mission, dubbed ‘Follow My Speed’ by Rocket Lab, lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 1:43 a.m. NZT on Nov. 21 (7:43 a.m. EST / 1243 UTC on Nov. 20). This was Rocket Lab’s 18th launch so far in 2025 and its 76th Electron launch to date. Leading up to the mission’s launch and during the broadcast, the company referred to the payload owner simply as a “confidential commercial customer.” After the satellite was deployed, the U.S. Space Force cataloged it into a 468 x 477 km orbit at a 42 degree inclination. Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and expert orbital tracker, noted on X (...

  An international study led by the University of Basel has discovered that nuclear pore complexes—tiny gateways in the nuclear membrane—are not rigid or gel-like as once thought. Their interiors are dynamically organized, constantly moving and rearranging. The findings reshape our understanding of a vital transport process in cells and have implications for diseases and potential therapies. Imagine the cell's nucleus as a bank vault protected by a highly sophisticated security system: the nuclear pore complex (NPC). Only proteins carrying the correct "key"—specialized transport factors—are granted exclusive access  This selective control over what enters and exits the nucleus is essential for ensuring proper communication between the genome protected inside it and the cellular machinery outside. Nanoscience leads to new biological insights Despite its importance, the NPC's inner workings have remained a mystery. Its transport channel is lined with highly flexible pro...

  Mitochondria are tiny structures inside cells that act as energy producers, supplying the power the body needs to grow, move, and stay healthy. Because a cell’s energy demand changes constantly, mitochondria must continually adjust their activity to keep up. This flexibility depends on the nutrients available inside the cell at any given time. Until recently, scientists did not fully understand how those nutrients drive the process of adaptation. A team led by Professor Dr. Thorsten Hoppe from the University of Cologne’s Institute for Genetics and the CECAD Cluster of Excellence on Aging Research has now uncovered a new biological pathway showing how the amino acid leucine strengthens mitochondrial performance. The researchers found that leucine helps stabilize crucial mitochondrial proteins, leading to more efficient energy production. Their study, titled “Leucine inhibits degradation of outer mitochondrial membrane proteins to adapt mitochondrial respiration,” was published in...