theSIGNAL SCIENCE
24 June 2026
"The universe is not only stranger than we suppose, but stranger than we can suppose."
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Science

The Coldest Lab in Space Just Got Colder

NASA's upgraded Cold Atom Lab is open for business on the ISS, and the universe's strangest matter is back on the menu.

On 11 April, a freshly upgraded science module arrived at the International Space Station. It was not carrying food or spare parts. It was carrying the ability to create the coldest known matter in the universe — and the physicists waiting for it on the ground could barely contain their excitement. NASA's Cold Atom Lab, roughly the size of a mini-fridge and operated remotely from California, has now resumed experiments that simply cannot happen on Earth.

Here is what makes it so strange. At temperatures just a whisker above absolute zero — minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit — atoms stop behaving like tiny billiard balls. They spread out into waves. They can appear to occupy several places at once.

Under the right conditions, they can even pass straight through each other.

Photo: NASA Hubble Space Telescope / Unsplash
The Cold Atom Lab module, about the size of a mini-fridge, operates remotely aboard the ISS.
Discuss
  • Why is microgravity essential for studying Bose-Einstein condensates in space?
  • What does it mean for an atom to 'behave like a wave' rather than a particle?
  • Should quantum technology research be a global priority given its potential costs and benefits?
  • How might ultracold atom sensors change the way we monitor climate change on Earth?
  • If matter can exist in a fifth state, how many states might scientists eventually discover?
Science

Godzilla El Niño Supercharges Europe's Heat

England's Met Office has issued a rare red warning as temperatures threaten to hit 40°C — a number that would have seemed science fiction just a decade ago. Across Europe, schools are shutting, trains are grinding to a halt, and France has banned outdoor alcohol to stop emergency services from being overwhelmed. …
  • Should governments ban outdoor activities during extreme heat emergencies?
∞
The wavelike nature of matter dominates, and ultracold matter can behave in ways that are not only unexpected, but that also enable extremely precise measurements of time, gravity, and motion.
Jason Williams, Project Scientist, Cold Atom Lab, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Science

Australia Keeps Its Deadliest Weed Killer

Banned in 74 jurisdictions — including the EU, China, and Brazil — paraquat is one of the most toxic herbicides ever made. Yet Australia just approved it again, after a review that took nearly 30 years. The chemical is linked to Parkinson's disease and is classified as a Schedule 7 poison. …
  • Should a country be allowed to use chemicals that it imports from nations where those same chemicals are banned?
WORLD · Science
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AMERICAS · Science
‘It’s not science, it’s coercion’: health experts decry RFK Jr order on hantavirus quarantine
EUROPE · Science
Social inequality can harm the foundations of society
theSIGNAL IN THE LAB
1VOCABULARY
ultracoldmicrogravity
Bose-Einstein condensateproving groundferocious
jurisdictionsherbicides
2GRAMMAR FOCUS
Mixed conditionals — past condition with present result
Use 'If + past perfect' in the if-clause and 'would/could/might + infinitive' in the main clause to describe a past situation whose effects are still felt in the present. For example: 'If they had never launched it, we would not know this today.'
would not be · would still be · could not study · might not exist · would not have · were · would know
  1. If NASA had not upgraded the Cold Atom Lab, physicists able to run these experiments today.
  2. If the Cold Atom Lab operating in orbit right now, scientists would have far less precision in their measurements.
  3. If gravity had not pulled BECs apart so quickly on Earth, researchers the need for a space-based laboratory.
  4. If Godzilla El Niño had not returned at such ferocious strength, this summer's record heatwave quite so alarming.
  5. If Australia had banned paraquat decades ago along with 74 other jurisdictions, its farmers such a heavy reliance on it today.
  6. If scientists had not created the fifth state of matter in a laboratory, quantum sensors for measuring ice sheets as advanced as they are.
  7. If climate change had been tackled more aggressively in earlier decades, extraordinary heatwaves disturbingly ordinary by now.
3DEPENDENT PREPOSITIONS
Complete each phrase with the correct preposition. All from today's articles.
  1. Scientists are queuing ___ to use the upgraded facility.
  2. The Cold Atom Lab is operated remotely ___ California.
  3. Paraquat is linked ___ Parkinson's disease.
  4. The BEC sits alongside solids, liquids, gases, and plasma as a fifth state ___ matter.
  5. Atoms freed ___ gravity can expand to impossible sizes.
  6. El Niño is layered ___ top of existing climate change.
4CRITICAL THINKING
Australia re-approved paraquat partly to protect farmers whose crops face glyphosate-resistant weeds — yet the chemical it now permits is one that its main supplier, China, forbids on its own soil. What does this situation reveal about the relationship between economic dependency, national sovereignty, and the global regulation of dangerous substances?
5CREATIVE · HEADLINES
Write a headline for the Cold Atom Lab story in each of the following styles. One line each, no explanation:
  • TABLOID NEWSPAPER
  • LUXURY MAGAZINE
  • ACTIVIST BLOG
6WRITING
France banned outdoor alcohol sales during the heatwave to prevent emergency services from being overwhelmed — a measure some welcomed and others called paternalistic. Write a short opinion piece arguing either that governments have a duty to impose such restrictions during climate emergencies, or that personal freedom must be preserved even under extreme conditions.
7DEGREES OF EXTREMITY
Complete each ladder from mild to strong.
  • cool→→
  • warm→→
  • concerned→→
  • unusual→→
  • toxic→→
  • relying on it→→
  • strong→→
8SPEAKING
  1. Who ultimately benefits most from space-based quantum research?
  2. Can extreme heat warnings ever genuinely change public behaviour?
  3. What does paraquat's approval reveal about Australia's farming priorities?
  4. Should international science facilities like Cold Atom Lab be jointly funded?
  5. When does a rare weather event become simply the new normal?