Weekly Headlines (Excerpts)

1.These small African antelopes may help mpox spread

Researchers find evidence that duikers, hunted and eaten across sub-Saharan Africa, can harbor the deadly virus

 27 Mar 2026 By Kai Kupferschmidt 

2. Two years after it emerged, ‘cow flu’ is still circulating—and baffling scientists

Researchers still aren’t sure how H5N1 influenza spreads between cows and from farm to farm

 27 Mar 2026 By Jon Cohen 

3. ‘Milestone’ research method measures gene activity across whole mice

New way to analyze frozen tissue slices could reveal bodywide effects of drugs, diseases

 27 Mar 2026 By Catherine Offord 

4. These birds suck—literally

Scientists spot first example of suction feeding in the avian world

 27 Mar 2026 By Erik Stokstad 

5. Jupiter’s weather forecast: cloudy with a chance of nukes

The planet’s lightning storms can unleash the force of multiple nuclear weapons every minute

 27 Mar 2026 By Robin George Andrews 

6. Abnormal behaviors in lab monkeys may reflect a lifetime of stressful experiences

Pacing and hair pulling may develop after multiple experiments, years of relative isolation, and more

 26 Mar 2026 By Jack Tamisiea 

7. ‘Resurrection plants’ bounce back after years of drought. Do they hold lessons for crops?

Plant biologist Jill Farrant hopes “desiccation-tolerant” species can teach her how to make crops more resilient

 26 Mar 2026 By Martin Enserink 

8. Unprecedented footage shows sperm whales joining forces to help a newborn calf

Cetaceans from different families take turns lifting baby whale to surface to breathe

 26 Mar 2026 By Perri Thaler 

9. Long-standing volcanic eruption theory might be backward

Eruptions could be triggered when bubbles vanish into magma—not when they burst out

 26 Mar 2026 By Hannah Richter 

10. NASA revives next-generation flagship Earth-observing missions

“Falcon” and “Eagle” will monitor changing clouds and map critical minerals

 25 Mar 2026 By Paul Voosen 

11. Hormone linked to morning sickness may help reduce alcohol intake

GDF15, which is thought to contribute to nausea during pregnancy, may keep our drinking in check, researchers propose

 20 Mar 2026 By Catherine Offord 

12. Hot things can freeze faster than cool ones. Now, this paradox has gone quantum

Unified theory explains Mpemba effect from ice cream to atoms—with implications for faster quantum computing

 25 Mar 2026 By Zack Savitsky 

13. World’s oldest dog identified at ancient hunter-gatherer site

Bones of 15,800-year-old puppy push confirmed origin of our canine companions back nearly 5000 years

 25 Mar 2026 By David Grimm 

14. Genes from giant viruses help polar algae survive frigid waters and harsh sunlight

A prior infection may create lasting, beneficial evolutionary change in these hardy microbes

 25 Mar 2026 By Amanda Heidt 

15. NASA plans to send a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars in 2028

Spacecraft would release helicopters to explore martian surface

 24 Mar 2026 By Paul Voosen 

16. Dueling AI agents could reveal keys to restoring consciousness

A new study probes consciousness with models that simulate and classify brain activity. A neuroscientist behind the work explains its ambitions

 24 Mar 2026 By Jennie Erin Smith 

17. Neanderthals survived on a knife’s edge for 350,000 years

A pair of studies illuminates these humans’ long, hardscrabble existence

 23 Mar 2026 By Andrew Curry 

18. AI algorithms can become ‘agents of chaos’

Given autonomous control of other software, programs shared private medical details and deleted files without permission

 23 Mar 2026 By Jeffrey Brainard