Published By: Soham Halder

Science & Space Roundup: Top News of the Day (May 27)

Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.

Fast-Tracked Monsoon in India: A Sign of Shifting Climate Patterns?

The southwest monsoon made an unusually early entry into India in 2025, arriving days ahead of schedule. A simultaneous early onset and wide coverage of the monsoon on day one is not unprecedented in India’s climatic history but it's rare. The onset and spread of the monsoon aren’t driven by just a few isolated factors. Both natural climatic systems and human-induced (anthropogenic) changes like global warming and climate change play a role. Some factors promoting the monsoon are reduced eurasian and Himalayan snow cover increasing land surface heating, Higher atmospheric moisture in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal are also fueling early cloud formation. Additionally, strong Somali jet and cross-equatorial flow transports moisture-laden air across the Arabian Sea to India’s west coast. Rapid monsoon advancement can lead to intense rainfall events, flooding, and disruptions in areas unprepared for early rains.

Underground Treasure Hunt: Earth’s Core Leaks Liquid Gold

A groundbreaking study of Hawaiian volcanic rocks shows that Earth's core is leaking gold and other precious metals to the surface. It's estimated that over 99.99% of the Earth's gold and precious metals, such as Ruthenium, are trapped in the metallic core, buried beneath 3,000km of solid rock, the study reported. These valuable resources have been locked away since the planet's formation 4.5 billion years ago. The analysis indicates that hundreds of quadrillion metric tonnes of superheated material from near the core-mantle boundary rise to form ocean islands like Hawaii. However, researchers are still unsure if the core-leaking process observed in the study has been a consistent phenomenon throughout the planet's history.

From Sci-Fi to Eye-Real: Lenses That Illuminate the Dark

Scientists have created night-vision contact lenses that they claim can grant people "super-vision.” The new contact lenses enable vision in the near-infrared range, and they could restore colour perception to people with colour blindness. The lenses use nanoparticles which consist of sodium gadolinium fluoride embedded with luminescent ytterbium, erbium and gold — absorb near-infrared photons in the 800- to 1,600-nanometer wavelength range before emitting them as visible light, wavelengths from around 380 to 750 nanometers. And unlike traditional night-vision goggles, these lenses don't require a power source.

Cracked After 100 Years: How Experts Found a Perfectly Preserved Sub

(Credit: X/@WHOI)

Researchers have located the wrecks of two long-lost military vehicles on the seafloor a few miles from San Diego: USS F-1, an American submarine that sank during a training accident in 1917, and a U.S. Navy training aircraft that crashed nearby in 1950. The National Science Foundation completed surveys of the submarine using video cameras, imaging systems on Alvin (research submarine), as well as sonar systems on Sentry(research sub) and the research vessel Atlantis. The sonar on Atlantic and Sentry was used to produce maps of the wreck and seafloor, while Alvin’s cameras captured images of the wreck that was stitched into models capable of measuring the sub and the marine life it now supports. Researchers were also able to reconstruct the F-1 and create a three-dimensional model. The researchers and Navy agreed not to make contact with the wreck to preserve its condition and be respectful of its legacy.