Weekly Headlines (Excerpts)

1. Rare seals spotted snoozing in an underwater ‘bubble cave’

Hidden chambers may provide Mediterranean monk seals refuge from tourists

 15 May 2026 By Phie Jacobs 

2. Making eyes ‘photosynthetic’ could treat common vision problem

Relocating plants’ light-capturing structures to the eye may fight damage from dry eye

 15 May 2026 By Mitch Leslie 

3. Chinese-European mission to reveal shape of Earth’s magnetic shield

SMILE orbiter will use x-rays to map how the solar wind batters the magnetosphere

 15 May 2026 By Dennis Normile 

4. Did this scientist go too far trying to save Ecuador’s wildlife?

Alejandro Arteaga’s efforts to identify and protect tropical reptiles and amphibians have entangled him in controversy

 14 May 2026 By Humberto Basilio 

5. Molecules emerge as a new kind of building block for quantum computers

Storing quantum information in designer molecules could hold advantages over atoms, ions, and other kinds of qubits

 14 May 2026 By Zack Savitsky 

6. Boy’s brain tumor tied to gene therapy

Researchers report first cancer caused by virus widely used to deliver genes, but say risk is low

 13 May 2026 By Jocelyn Kaiser 

7. Gotcha! Odd language mistakes may help identify fake papers

A small investigation found identical errors and phrases across more than 200 papers, suggesting they were produced by paper mills

 13 May 2026 By Nicola Jones 

8. Ghost of long-extinct ancestor lives on in people today

Ancient Homo erectus teeth from China yield protein variants seen in Denisovans—and us

 13 May 2026 By Andrew Curry 

9. Fluffy ice could imperil spacecraft landings on ocean moons

Water erupted from cryovolcanoes may freeze into thick but fragile layers on Europa and Enceladus

 13 May 2026 By Elise Cutts 

10. Most dementia patients have multiple brain diseases. How should they be treated?

Growing awareness of “copathology” inspires new diagnostic tests and clinical trials

 12 May 2026 By Jennie Erin Smith 

11. Scientists ID ‘corkscrew killer’ behind gruesome seal deaths

Bizarre injuries were not caused by sharks or boat propellers, but a more surprising culprit

 11 May 2026 By Christa Lesté-Lasserre