A new holographic storage technique uses light in three dimensions to dramatically increase how much data can be stored. It encodes information throughout a material using amplitude, phase, and polarization, rather than just on a surface. An AI model then reconstructs the data from light patterns, simplifying the process. This could pave the way for faster, denser, and more efficient data storage systems.

Scientists have created a microscopic QR code so tiny it can only be seen with an electron microscope—smaller than most bacteria and now officially a world record. But this isn’t just about size; it’s about durability. By engraving data into ultra-stable ceramic materials, the team has opened the door to storing information that could last for centuries or even millennia without needing power or maintenance.

What teens eat might matter more for their mental health than previously thought. A sweeping review of nearly 20 studies found that healthier diets are often linked to fewer depressive symptoms, while poor eating habits may go hand in hand with greater psychological distress. Interestingly, focusing on whole dietary patterns—not just individual nutrients—showed more consistent benefits, suggesting that overall eating habits could play a meaningful role during this critical stage of brain development.

Scientists have developed a new gene therapy that quiets pain at its source in the brain—without the addictive risks of opioids. Using AI to map how pain is processed, they created a targeted “off switch” that mimics morphine’s benefits but skips its dangerous side effects. In early tests, it delivered lasting relief without affecting normal sensations. The discovery could mark a major step toward safer, non-addictive pain treatments.

A major new U.S. cholesterol guideline is shifting the focus toward earlier, more personalized prevention of heart disease. It urges people to start screening sooner—sometimes even in childhood—and highlights the importance of tracking not just LDL (“bad”) cholesterol but also genetic risk factors like lipoprotein(a). A new, more advanced risk calculator now uses broader health data to better predict heart attack and stroke risk over decades.

Nicotine e-cigarettes may be one of the most effective tools yet for quitting smoking, according to a sweeping review of global research. By analyzing findings from 14 major reviews spanning nearly a decade, researchers found consistent, high-quality evidence showing that nicotine vapes outperform traditional methods like patches, gum, and even behavioral support. While some lower-quality studies produced mixed results, the strongest data clearly favored nicotine e-cigarettes.

A widely used sugar substitute found in everything from keto snacks to diet drinks may not be as harmless as it seems. New research shows that erythritol can disrupt brain blood vessel cells, reducing their ability to relax, increasing harmful oxidative stress, and impairing the body’s ability to break down clots. These changes create conditions that could raise stroke risk, even at typical consumption levels.

For decades, astronomers have been puzzled by strange “zebra stripe” patterns in radio waves from the Crab Pulsar — bright bands separated by complete darkness. Now, new research suggests the answer lies in a cosmic tug-of-war between gravity and plasma. The pulsar’s plasma spreads light apart, while gravity bends it back together, creating interference patterns that form the striking stripes.

Scientists have created a new kind of carbon material that could make carbon capture much cheaper and more efficient. By carefully controlling how nitrogen atoms are arranged, they found certain structures capture CO2 better and release it using far less heat. One version works at temperatures below 60 °C, meaning it could run on waste heat instead of costly energy. The discovery offers a powerful new blueprint for next-generation climate technology.

Scientists have uncovered how your body actually tells your brain to stop eating when you’re sick. In a new study, researchers found that specialized cells in the gut detect parasites and send signals that ultimately trigger the brain to suppress appetite. This process builds over time, explaining why you may feel fine at first but then suddenly lose interest in food as an infection takes hold.

A new solar breakthrough may overcome a long-standing efficiency barrier. Researchers used a “spin-flip” metal complex to capture and multiply energy from sunlight through singlet fission. The result reached about 130% efficiency, meaning more energy carriers were produced than photons absorbed. This could lead to much more powerful solar panels in the future.

Scientists have identified a key biological system that helps brown fat burn energy by building the networks it needs to function. A protein called SLIT3 splits into two parts, with each piece guiding the growth of blood vessels and nerves inside brown fat. These structures allow the tissue to pull in nutrients and rapidly convert them into heat instead of storing them as fat.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuel trade association, applauded President Donald Trump, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins for helping to deliver the largest renewable volume obligations (RVOs) in the nation’s history. Growth Energy also welcomed news that EPA would account for a number of small refinery exemptions (SREs) by reallocating 70% of those volumes.

“With this rulemaking, EPA and the administration are reinforcing their unwavering support for American-made biofuels and sending a strong signal about the continued role biofuels like ethanol will play in delivering American energy dominance and greater prosperity to the heartland,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “We commend President Trump, EPA Administrator Zeldin, and USDA Secretary Rollins for working together to finalize this historic, growth-oriented proposal, which opens the market for more than 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuel in 2026 and 2027.

“USDA also deserves our industry’s thanks for its advocacy on behalf of American farmers—the agency worked tirelessly to ensure that the final RVOs reflected the President’s agenda for unleashing American energy and restoring prosperity to rural America. With so many farm families struggling to make ends meet, we must take every opportunity to build reliable, domestic markets for American agriculture.

“Furthermore, we applaud EPA for making the decision to reallocate 70% of all gallons lost to 2023-2025 SREs. This provides clarity and predictability across the liquid fuel supply chain, while guaranteeing that the new markets promised to American farmers and biofuel producers as part of the RVOs are not destroyed by costly exemptions.

“We are grateful to President Trump and his administration for its steadfast support for homegrown biofuels, and for setting a new high watermark for American ethanol. We look forward to continuing our work with EPA and Congressional champions as we continue to find ways to strengthen domestic energy security and open new market opportunities for U.S. farmers and rural communities.”

BACKGROUND

Under the RFS, EPA sets the number of gallons of renewable fuels (such as biofuels) that must be blended into the nation’s total fuel supply each year. Those renewable volume obligations (RVOs) apply to fuel producers (petroleum refiners) and importers, otherwise known as “obligated parties.”  Each obligated party is required to blend a certain percentage of renewable fuels into the transportation fuel they produce or import to meet the nationwide RVO. The law also allows EPA to grant exemptions from RFS blending requirements to certain refiners (SREs) in rare circumstances when a refiner demonstrates “disproportionate economic hardship” in its efforts to comply with the RFS.

On June 13, 2025, EPA proposed RVOs for 2026-2027, proposing that refiners must blend at least 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuels (i.e., ethanol) into the nation’s fuel blend for each plan year. The RVO proposal—also called the Set 2—also included requirements to blend more than one billion gallons of cellulosic biofuel, more than seven billion gallons of biomass-based diesel, and more than nine billion gallons of advanced biofuel for each plan year. Altogether, EPA’s proposal would require the blending of more than 24 billion gallons of renewable fuel each year, making it the largest RVO proposal in the program’s history.

On August 22, 2025, EPA released its decisions on 175 pending SRE petitions, covering compliance years 2016-2024. In all, EPA granted a total of 140 petitions: 63 full exemptions and 77 partial (50%) exemptions.

At the time, EPA also announced that it would release a supplemental proposal to its proposed Set 2 RVO to reallocate exempt SRE gallons from 2023-2025 compliance years to the 2026 and 2027 compliance years covered by Set 2. Although it had not yet issued decisions on 2025 SRE petitions, EPA estimated upwards of 2.1 billion 2023-2025 RINs were potentially subject to reallocation. Under this approach, refiners would be required to make up for lost gallons from those years, ensuring that SREs don’t compromise renewable fuel demand.

EPA released the supplemental proposal on SRE reallocation on September 16, 2025. It indicated that the agency is considering accounting for “volumes representing complete (100 percent) reallocation and 50 percent reallocation for SREs granted in full or in part for 2023 and 2024, as well as those projected to be granted for 2025, as part of the ongoing RFS rulemaking.” Growth Energy provided substantive comment in response to EPA’s proposal.

In November 2025, EPA also issued decisions on 16 SRE petitions for the 2021 through 2024 RVO compliance years. EPA granted 2 full exemptions and 14 partial (50%) exemptions and denied 2 petitions. The November 2025 exemptions totaled 740 million RINs, 510 million of which were for the 2023 and 2024 RVO compliance years.

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuel trade association, will welcome a contingent of farmers and biofuel producers to Washington, D.C. this week to attend the White House’s National Ag Week celebration on March 27.  

“Agriculture is the bedrock of our economy, and Growth Energy is proud to celebrate the farmers who keep America growing,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “Ag Week is also an important opportunity to remind lawmakers that America’s farmers are ready to fuel more savings at the pump with low-cost, American-made biofuels. To put our crop surplus to work, Congress must act swiftly to deliver on President Trump’s call for year-round access to E15.” 

“The President understands that farmers want reliable markets—not handouts,” said Mark Schmidt, chairman of the board at Glacial Lakes Energy. “With year-round E15, we can tap into surging demand for lower-cost fuel, create rural jobs, and boost America’s energy security.” 

“Iowa leads the nation in biofuel production,” said Mark Wigans, CORN LP president and a fourth-generation Iowa farmer. “But for too long, outdated regulations on E15 have created needless uncertainty—affecting planting decisions, local investment and ultimately the value of every bushel we grow. It’s time for Congress deliver action for American farmers and motorists.”  

After reaching an impasse in January, House leaders agreed to establish an E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council, tasked with striking a deal no later than February 15 and sending legislation to the House floor no later than February 25, 2026. While lawmakers report progress, no legislation has been introduced. According to Growth Energy, the entire supply chain—including farmers, biofuel producers, retailers, and the vast majority of refiners—has united behind a fix, but the legislation is being held hostage by a tiny handful of mid-sized refiners who are demanding unrelated handouts from the EPA.

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A fossil ape discovered in northern Egypt is reshaping the story of human evolution. The species, Masripithecus, lived about 17 to 18 million years ago and may sit very close to the ancestor of all modern apes. This finding challenges the long-standing focus on East Africa. Instead, it points to northern Africa and nearby regions as a possible birthplace of apes.

A massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar in March 2025, but what makes this event extraordinary is what happened next. For the first time, a nearby CCTV camera captured the fault rupture in real time, giving scientists a rare, direct look at how the Earth moves during a major quake. Researchers discovered that the ground shifted 2.5 meters in just 1.3 seconds, confirming a rapid, pulse-like rupture and revealing that the fault path was slightly curved.

Gut bacteria aren’t just passive passengers—they can actively send proteins straight into our cells. Using microscopic injection systems, even harmless microbes can influence immune responses and metabolic pathways. Researchers found these interactions may play a role in inflammatory diseases like Crohn’s. It’s a major shift in how scientists understand the microbiome’s power over human health.

Scientists have uncovered a surprising way to study the harsh space weather around young M dwarf stars. Mysterious dips in starlight turned out to be massive rings of plasma swirling in the stars’ magnetic fields. These structures act like built-in space weather monitors, revealing how energetic particles affect nearby planets. The findings could reshape how we think about whether planets around these common stars can survive—or even host life.

Researchers have uncovered a new way to generate exotic oscillation states in tiny magnetic structures—using only minimal energy. By exciting magnetic waves, they triggered a delicate motion that produced a rich spectrum of signals never seen before in this system. The finding challenges existing assumptions and could help connect different types of technologies, from conventional electronics to quantum devices. It’s a small effect with potentially huge implications.

Mars may look like a frozen desert today, but new evidence suggests its watery past didn’t simply fade away quietly—it may have been blasted into space by powerful dust storms. Scientists have discovered that even relatively small, localized storms can hurl water vapor high into the atmosphere, where it breaks apart and escapes.