Student News Today — September 16, 2026

The pace of scientific discovery is accelerating across disciplines, revealing new insights into both the natural world and human endeavors. In the life sciences, researchers are making progress in preventing bacterial infections, as a first-of-its-kind preventive phage therapy shows promising results against Salmonella. Meanwhile, a study on cell division sheds light on how mitotic chromosomes assemble, suggesting they may be formed from pre-existing chromatin 'building blocks'. The natural world is also under scrutiny, with scientists tracking the path of the new world screwworm and the Webb telescope revealing a dynamic panorama of star formation, including the smallest known brown dwarfs.

These advances in biology and astronomy are matched by developments in technology and policy. In a significant shift, the US has acknowledged for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space, marking a new era in space militarization. On the technological front, researchers are pushing the boundaries of photonics with a new advance in topology imprinting in nonlinear metasurfaces. As scientists continue to explore and understand the world around us, their findings have far-reaching implications for fields from medicine to space exploration, underscoring the importance of rigorous scientific inquiry and discovery.

Today's signal:
• First-of-its-kind preventive phage therapy provides promising results against Salmonella (phys.org)
• US acknowledges for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space (phys.org)
• Study explores new photonics advance: Topology imprinting in nonlinear metasurfaces (phys.org)
• Tracking the path of new world screwworm (phys.org)
• Webb reveals dynamic panorama of star formation, including smallest known brown dwarfs (phys.org)
• Mitotic chromosomes may assemble from pre-existing chromatin 'building blocks' during cell division (phys.org)