Weekly Headlines (Excerpts)

1. Remote Greek culture has been a genetic ‘island’ for 4500 years

New DNA analysis links Deep Maniots to Greece’s premedieval past

 6 FEB 2026 BY PERRI THALER 

2. These beetles wear chemical ‘invisibility cloaks’—and will die if they’re removed

Coatings used by symbiotic residents of ant colonies may represent an evolutionary dead end

 5 FEB 2026 BY ERIK STOKSTAD

3. Imagination isn’t just for humans, this famous ape shows

Kanzi, a bonobo studied for his language skills, understood make-believe objects

 5 FEB 2026 BY CLAUDIA STEINER 

4. FDA-approved drug may address a major cause of infertility

Finerenone boosts ovary function in mice and appears to help people with primary ovarian insufficiency produce mature eggs

 5 FEB 2026 BY CATHERINE OFFORD 

5. Inside the quest to make a safer football helmet

New energy-absorbing designs and materials have revolutionized the iconic safety device

 5 FEB 2026 BY ADRIAN CHO 

6. Space dust reveals rapid evolution after dino-killing asteroid

New data detail how tiny forms of life rebounded much more quickly than previously believed

 4 FEB 2026 BY TAYLOR MITCHELL BROWN 

7. Open-source AI program can answer science questions better than humans

Developed by and for academics, OpenScholar aims to improve searches of the ballooning scientific literature

 4 FEB 2026 BY JEFFREY BRAINARD 

8. Loss of ‘hunger hormone’ has made snakes masters of fasting

Ditching ghrelin genes may have helped a wide variety of reptiles deal with a boom-or-bust feeding schedule

 3 FEB 2026 BY JAKE BUEHLER 

9. Brain cells birth zombielike transport vesicles

Shed from the surfaces of astrocytes, “zombosomes” flit between cells, carrying proteins linked to disease

 3 FEB 2026 BY JASMIN GALVAN 

10. As the world warms, freezing rain shifts to the U.S. South

Recent winter storm traced the path of an emerging ice corridor

 3 FEB 2026 BY HANNAH RICHTER 

11. Serious side effects dim hopes for the first chikungunya vaccine

The shots fell short during a massive outbreak on a French island. A new vaccine may be safer

 2 FEB 2026 BY VAISHNAVI CHANDRASHEKHAR