Weekly Headlines (Excerpts)

1. Fate of the last female great auk is finally solved

DNA and historical sleuthing have traced the extinct bird’s remains to a museum in Ohio

3 Oct 2025  By Erik Stokstad

2. Jane Goodall, famed primatologist, changed the way we thought about apes

The scientist and conservationist made waves with her observations and advocacy

2 Oct 2025  By Michael Price 

3. New radioactive isotope therapies promise more targeted attacks on cancer

Recent clinical successes, and profits, have prompted a rush among pharma companies to try new isotopes and targeting strategies

2 Oct 2025  By Robert F. Service 

4. Neurons can communicate via hidden network of nanotubes, study finds

Tubes in mouse and human brains may also influence spread of brain disease

2 Oct 2025  By Catherine Offord 

5. Could technology reduce fractures in racehorses?

AI promises advance warnings, and mathematical models point to a simple prevention strategy

2 Oct 2025  By Christa Lesté-Lasserre.

6. Wildfire smoke is charring your wine. This microbe could help

Bacteria already living on grapes can break down smoky chemicals that wreck flavor

1 Oct 2025  By Celina Zhao 

7. Ancient DNA from horses slaughtered by Neanderthals sheds light on equine evolution

300,000-year-old genes are oldest ever recovered from open-air site

1 Oct 2025  By Andrew Curry 

8. Insects aren’t ‘little robots’—so scientists are rethinking their welfare

Science chats with an entomologist and an expert in animal ethics who are monitoring how researchers report on the ethical treatment of insects

30 Sep 2025  By Phie Jacobs 

9. Prehistoric camel art pointed to precious water sources in the Arabian Desert

Hunter-gatherers may have used the engravings to find water 12,000 years ago

30 Sep 2025  By Taylor Mitchell Brown

10. Mysterious will-o’-the-wisps ignited by microlightning

Electrical discharge from microscopic bubbles offers a new explanation for fleeting flames of folklore

29 Sep 2025  By Robert F. Service 

11. Paleolithic painters had the blues

Two recent studies shine light on the earliest known artistic usages of blue pigment

29 Sep 2025  By Andrew Curry