Weekly Headlines (Excerpts)

1. ‘Things keep evolving into anteaters.’ Odd animals arose at least 12 separate times

Findings speak to the dramatic impact ants and termites can have on mammalian evolution

25 Jul 2025  By Jake Buehler 

2. This trilobite fossil became ancient Roman bling

It’s the first example of this common fossil found in the ancient Roman world

24 Jul 2025  By Taylor Mitchell Brown 

3. Fifteen years later, Science retracts ‘arsenic life’ paper despite study authors’ protests

Belated decision on widely disputed 2010 study pleases some critics but puzzles and dismays others

24 Jul 2025  By Catherine Offord 

4. Three ancient human relatives once shared the same valley. Did they meet—and compete?

The world’s greatest concentration of ancestral human remains, in South Africa, poses a 2-million-year-old riddle of coexistence

24 Jul 2025  By Ann Gibbons 

5. Cheap drug could fight malaria by spoiling mosquitoes’ blood meal

Field study in Kenya suggests innovative strategy has promise—but some researchers question its viability

23 Jul 2025  By Kai Kupferschmidt 

6. Songbirds play optical tricks to make their feather colors‘pop’

Concealed black or white bands on feathers boost the vibrancy of bird plumage

23 Jul 2025  By Nazeefa Ahmed 

7. Most of Earth’s critical underground fungus is unprotected

First global map of mushrooms that form beneficial relationships with plant roots reveals 90% live outside of conservation areas

23 Jul 2025  By Humberto Basilio 

8. Controversial ‘gene-drive’ strategy could make mosquitoes hostile to malaria parasites

New approach aims to reduce disease transmission by quickly spreading a gene variant that occurs naturally in some mosquitoes

23 Jul 2025  By Mitch Leslie 

9. This scientist advises the U.K. government on climate policy—and it has to hear him out

As Piers Forster steps down as chair of the influential Climate Change Committee, he chats with Science about his role in guiding the country toward decarbonization

23 Jul 2025  By Cathleen O’Grady 

10. ‘We’re in uncharted waters.’ Hacking swamps could curb methane emissions—but side effects are unclear

Rising levels of the potent greenhouse gas prompt “delicate” steps into new kind of geoengineering

22 Jul 2025  By Paul Voosen 

11. In‘blow to the environment,’ EPA begins to dismantle its research office

Extensive layoffs could have wide-ranging impacts on conservation and human health

22 Jul 2025  By Erik Stokstad 

12. Can portable headsets peer into the minds of hunter-gatherers and other understudied populations?

Science chats with health economist Shailender Swaminathan about how compact EEGs could reveal the impact of culture and environment on the brain

22 Jul 2025  By Siddhant Pusdekar 

13. Watch an earthquake split a hillside in two

Footage of massive Myanmar temblor provides the first video evidence of earthquake ruptures

22 Jul 2025  By Hannah Richter 

14. Engineers transform dental floss into needle-free vaccine

New method places inactivated viruses directly into mice’s gums

22 Jul 2025  By Annika Inampudi 

15. Octopuses fall for the ‘rubber arm’ illusion, just like us

Experiment shows octopuses feel body ownership, a trait previously seen only in mammals

21 Jul 2025  By Jasmin Galvan 

16. Insect X-Men: Helmets help these odd bugs sense electric fields

Ability may help treehoppers distinguish friend from foe

21 Jul 2025  By Erik Stokstad 

17. Storing hydrogen in oil-like liquid could allow easy transport in trucks and ships

Cheap catalyst could improve global access to costly green fuel

21 Jul 2025  By Robert F. Service 

18. Betelgeuse’s long-predicted stellar companion may have been found at last

Small star could crash into red supergiant in the next 10,000 years

21 Jul 2025  By Daniel Clery