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Using data from the first flight of Spider and from the Planck High Frequency Instrument, we probe the properties of polarized emission from interstellar dust in the Spider observing region. Component-separation algorithms operating in both the spatial and harmonic domains are applied to probe their consistency and to quantify modeling errors associated with their assumptions. Analyses of diffuse Galactic dust emission spanning the full Spider region demonstrate (i) a spectral energy distribution that is broadly consistent with a modified-blackbody (MBB) model with a spectral index of β _d = 1.45 ± 0.05 (1.47 ± 0.06) for E ( B )-mode polarization, slightly lower than that reported by Planck for the full sky; (ii) an angular power spectrum broadly consistent with a power law; and (iii) no significant detection of line-of-sight polarization decorrelation. Tests of several modeling uncertainties find only a modest impact (∼10% in σ _r ) on Spider ’s sensitivity to the cosmological tensor-to-scalar ratio. The size of the Spider region further allows for a statistically meaningful analysis of the variation in foreground properties within it. Assuming a fixed dust temperature T _d = 19.6 K, an analysis of two independent subregions of that field results in inferred values of β _d = 1.52 ± 0.06 and β _d = 1.09 ± 0.09, which are inconsistent at the 3.9 σ level. Furthermore, a joint analysis of Spider and Planck 217 and 353 GHz data within one subregion is inconsistent with a simple MBB at more than 3 σ , assuming a common morphology of polarized dust emission over the full range of frequencies. This evidence of variation may inform the component-separation approaches of future cosmic microwave background polarization experiments.

The most advanced monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and vaccines against malaria target the central repeat region or closely related sequences within the Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (PfCSP). Here, using an antigen-agnostic strategy to investigate human antibody responses to whole sporozoites, we identified a class of mAbs that target a cryptic PfCSP epitope that is only exposed after cleavage and subsequent pyroglutamylation (pGlu) of the newly formed N terminus. This pGlu-CSP epitope is not targeted by current anti-PfCSP mAbs and is not included in the licensed malaria vaccines. MAD21-101, the most potent mAb in this class, confers sterile protection against Pf infection in a human liver-chimeric mouse model. These findings reveal a site of vulnerability on the sporozoite surface that can be targeted by next-generation antimalarial interventions.

This work describes the design and implementation of optics for EXCLAIM, the EXperiment for Cryogenic Large-Aperture Intensity Mapping. EXCLAIM is a balloon-borne telescope that will measure integrated line emission from carbon monoxide at redshifts z < 1 and ionized carbon ([CII]) at redshifts z = 2.5 - 3.5 to probe star formation over cosmic time in cross-correlation with galaxy redshift surveys. The EXCLAIM instrument is designed to observe at frequencies of 420-540 GHz using six microfabricated silicon integrated spectrometers with spectral resolving power R = 512 coupled to kinetic inductance detectors. A completely cryogenic telescope cooled to a temperature below 5 K provides low-background observations between narrow atmospheric lines in the stratosphere. Off-axis reflective optics use a 90-cm primary mirror to provide 4.2' full-width at half-maximum resolution at the center of the EXCLAIM band over a field of view of 22.5'. Illumination of the 1.7 K cold stop combined with blackened baffling at multiple places in the optical system ensures low (<-40 dB) edge illumination of the primary to minimize spill onto warmer elements at the top of the dewar., (© 2025 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).)