Science & Technology — July 6, 2026

China's Tianwen-2 probe reaches its asteroid target. China's spacecraft reached its target asteroid after traveling more than 1 billion kilometers over more than a year, setting up the country's first asteroid sample-return mission.

Phys.org · Read more →

Synthetic cells feed, grow, and reproduce. Researchers engineered human-made cells displaying hallmarks of life—feeding, growing, and reproducing—a step toward building life from scratch. But the cells cannot yet divide indefinitely.

Smithsonian · Read more →

Euclid telescope finds 31 ancient quasars. The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope identified 31 of the oldest quasars ever found, including two of the earliest known galaxy cores powered by supermassive black holes.

Phys.org · Read more →

Chemical accidents rise as safety rules face rollbacks. Chemicals released in accidents that injured or killed people rose nearly 50% in recent years. The Trump administration, meanwhile, proposes rolling back industrial safety regulations.

Ars Technica · Read more →

U.S. heat wave death toll passes two dozen. Extreme heat has killed at least 24 people over the past week, and 40 million remain under alerts. The White House deleted thousands of energy-conservation webpages during the emergency.

Axios · Read more →