Weekly Headlines (Excerpts)

1. Simple solar device extracts ammonia from wastewater

Technique could provide cheap fertilizer and prevent harmful nutrient runoff

1 Aug 2025  By Robert F. Service 

2. Blood taken from Danish babies ended up in huge genetic study—without consent

The iPsych project, which investigates the genetics of psychiatric disorders, has sent 140,000 opt-out notices amid backlash

1 Aug 2025  By Annika Inampudi 

3. Our ape ancestors’ taste for fermenting fruit may have paved a boozy evolutionary path

Eating fallen fruit—or “scrumping”—plays a bigger part in many apes’ diets than scientists realized

31 Jul 2025  By Bridget Alex 

4. Thank ketchup for your French fries

Interbreeding with tomatoes 9 million years ago gave potatoes the genes to develop tubers

31 Jul 2025  By Erik Stokstad 

5. These ancient tattoos show the work of a master and apprentice

A mummy’s inked skin sheds light on the history of body art

30 Jul 2025  By Andrew Curry 

6. Hidden features of volcano ‘lava bombs’ caught on video

Slow-motion footage helps scientists predict flight paths of molten projectiles

30 Jul 2025  By Mark DeGraff 

7. Beavers are poised to invade and radically remake the Arctic

A warming climate is enabling rodents to move north

30 Jul 2025  By Warren Cornwall 

8. Early universe’s ‘little red dots’ may be black hole stars

Puzzling objects spotted by NASA’s JWST telescope may be entirely new class of celestial entity

29 Jul 2025  By Daniel Clery 

9. Giant virus with record-long tail discovered in Pacific Ocean

Infecting marine plankton, the pathogen may use its extreme appendage to enter host cells

29 Jul 2025  By Nazeefa Ahmed 

10. Peacock feathers can be lasers

Tail feathers can emit narrow beams of light, a first in the animal kingdom

28 Jul 2025  By Rachel Berkowitz 

11. Genomewide study makes ‘quantum leap’ in understanding stuttering

Analysis of DNA from 23andMe users points to variants in genes linked to brain function and sense of rhythm

28 Jul 2025  By Nazeefa Ahmed