Weekly Headlines (Excerpts)

1. Thousands buried in 17th century Italian crypt reveal lives of working poor

Remains recovered from beneath a Milan hospital shed light on health, diet, and drug habits during the 1600s

 1 MAY 2025  BY ANDREW CURRY 

2. Redated artifacts rewrite how Indigenous people responded to European contact

Fresh radiocarbon data challenge archaeologists’ assumptions about North America’s Indigenous history

 1 MAY 2025  BY LIZZIE WADE 

3. Researchers push to include animal cultures in conservation policy

As evidence accrues of complex socially transmitted behaviors in animals, biologists are figuring out how to use these data in conservation

 1 MAY 2025  BY MARÍA PAULA RUBIANO A. 

4. Hunt for tree rings could yield Africa’s first drought atlas

Records could reveal how much humanity has altered Sahel rains

 30 APR 2025  BY PAUL VOOSEN 

5. DNA traces Picuris Pueblo Tribe’s ancient ancestral ties to Chaco Canyon

The project could bolster tribal land rights and serve as a model for partnership between scientists and Indigenous communities

 30 APR 2025  BY MAYA WEI-HAAS 

6. ‘Major breakthrough’: A natural gene variant protects rice from heat waves

Discovery could help crop breeders preserve grain quality and harvest size as climate changes

 30 APR 2025  BY ERIK STOKSTAD 

7. Are you as easily fooled as AI? Depends what you see in this image

This optical illusion from the natural world is testing the limits of computer vision

 29 APR 2025  BY JENNA AHART 

8. Astronomers searching for Planet Nine find possible hints of different planet

Analysis of decades-old data yields a faint, meandering point of light beyond Neptune—but many astronomers are skeptical

 29 APR 2025  BY HANNAH RICHTER 

9. Astronomers spot a gold mine in massive cosmic flares

Phenomenon behind heavy element creation has been a mystery for 2 decades

 2 MAY 2025  BY JENNA AHART 

10. Dying coral reefs could slow climate change

Dissolving skeletons would boost oceans’ ability to soak up carbon dioxide

 2 MAY 2025  BY ELISE CUTTS