Video
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Prenatal surgery for spina bifida may get a boost from stem cells
A clinical trial for spina bifida treatment suggests that a surgical approach relying on stem cells is safe for patients. Its efficacy is still being evaluated.
- Animals
This kea parrot is the first-known disabled alpha male
With half a beak, Bruce has developed an innovative fighting style that has won the kea top status in his flock, videos and documented interactions reveal.
- Space
Artemis II: NASA’s Orion heads home after a historic loop around the moon
The record-setting astronauts had a front-row view of the farside of the moon, an eclipse and perhaps a re-creation of the famous Earthrise.
- Health & Medicine
Digital heart twins can guide a lifesaving procedure
Heart replicas helped doctors spot good targets for ablation in 10 patients. Months later, all of them are free of sustained faulty rhythms.
- Animals
Secrets of the Bees zooms in on life in a hive
A new documentary available on Disney+ and Hulu appeals to our sense of wonder to highlight why bees need saving.
- Animals
Watch the first video of a sperm whale birth captured by scientists
In a sperm whale birth recorded in more intimate detail than ever before, local whales huddled around the mother and lifted the calf to the surface.
- Physics
These insects fly with their legs. Physics explains how
Phantom crane flies change the angle of their splayed legs to increase or reduce drag, helping them navigate varying winds.
- Space
How realistic is Project Hail Mary?
Ryan Gosling is on a mission to save the sun — and Earth — from star-killing microbes. Science News dissects the science behind the sci-fi movie.
- Plants
Check out 6 ways orchids use tricks to reproduce
This spring, these six orchids will lure pollinators with mimicry, scent or other unusual strategies.
- Health & Medicine
‘Smart underwear’ measures how often humans fart
“Zen digesters” rarely fart. “Hydrogen hyperproducers” fart a lot. Scientists are investigating what is typical.
- Physics
Here’s why sneakers squeak on the basketball court
Tiny, repeating detachments between sole and floor — thousands of times a second — create the distinctive squeak heard on the court, data show.
- Life
An African monkey ate a rope squirrel and came down with mpox
Fecal analyses and necropsies suggest a fire-footed rope squirrel was the source of a 2023 mpox outbreak among sooty mangabeys in Côte d’Ivoire.
