2026 - Bean watcher

Nov

2026

Rubin Observatory identifies new candidate dwarf planet orbiting beyond Neptune

The object, 2026 ED138, could be one of the largest bodies known in the outer solar system, but its size and status still need confirming.The NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory has found its first candidate dwarf planet: an icy body orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune, currently about 46 times farther from the Sun than Earth is. The object, provisionally designated 2026 ED138, was announced on October 27 by the observatory and the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center.Its exact size is still unknown. If the upper end of current estimates holds, it would rank among the largest bodies discovered beyond…

Nov

2026

By Lily Chang

Health officials confirm first 2024 bird flu death in Yakima County resident

Science and Technology

A patient in Yakima County with pre-existing medical conditions has become the initial fatality linked to avian influenza nationwide this year. Public health authorities are keeping track of individuals who had close exposure, noting that the threat to the general population stays minimal.A Yakima County resident who caught avian influenza from infected dairy cattle has died, the Yakima Health District announced on Sunday, November 1. The death is the first from bird flu in the United States this year and the third since human infections tied to the current animal outbreaks began in 2024, according to CNN.The district did not…

Nov

2026

By Lily Chang

Simulations suggest comets rarely brought life’s building blocks to Earth

Science and Technology

A Cambridge-led modeling study finds that comets rarely, if ever, delivered intact hydrogen cyanide to the young Earth, weakening a 1960s idea about where life's raw materials came from.For more than six decades, scientists have entertained the idea that comets helped start life on Earth by delivering ready-made organic ingredients.A new modeling study argues that this delivery route was, at best, a rare accident.The research, published October 28 in Scientific Reports, focused on hydrogen cyanide (HCN), a simple molecule that is common in comets and serves as a starting material in many laboratory recipes for the building blocks of RNA…

Nov

2026

By Lily Chang

Which industries are seeing the highest AI-driven job growth

Investments and Business

Artificial intelligence is fueling the need for professionals who design computing infrastructure, engineer and protect AI systems, curate data, and integrate these capabilities into traditional enterprises. Nonetheless, accurate worldwide tallies measuring AI-driven job growth across specific sectors remain elusive. Recruitment metrics frequently highlight artificial intelligence proficiencies without clarifying if a vacancy represents a newly created post, and organizations frequently onboard AI experts while simultaneously downsizing other departments.Therefore, the ten sectors outlined below serve as an evidence-informed catalog of primary AI recruitment drivers rather than a quantified assessment of net employment growth, blending direct artificial intelligence positions with occupations that expand…