Sunday Special: A cosmic tunnel to other galaxies

A US startup is on a mission to revive ancient extinct species like the woolly mammoth, and they just engineered their first species — woolly mice! Meanwhile, a college grad debunked the solution to a century-old math problem.

P.S. The Sunday Special is designed to help you discover the most important scientific and technological breakthroughs outside of AI. Our regular AI and Tech updates will resume as usual on Monday.

SCIENCE SUNDAY

The most interesting scientific discoveries and breakthroughs this week

Woolly Wonder: Genetics startup Colossal Biosciences just created what might be the world's most scientifically significant rodent. In its quest to resurrect the woolly mammoth, the company has successfully engineered a mouse with mammoth-like fur using CRISPR gene editing. Scientists still need to test if the mice can handle the cold, a key step before scaling up to the mammoth.

Cosmic Shortcut: Scientists claim to have discovered a massive interstellar tunnel near our solar system, possibly carved out by ancient supernovae. The tunnel, extending toward the Centaurus constellation, may act as a cosmic passageway, allowing hot gas to escape the Local Hot Bubble. This could reshape our understanding of how supernova explosions sculpt the Milky Way — potentially hinting at new routes for interstellar travel.

Quake Clues: Next time there's an earthquake, scientists may look up at the sky instead of the ground to search for explanations. New research suggests that sunspots subtly heat the Earth's surface and alter underground water movements. These tiny shifts make rocks more brittle, increasing the chances of seismic activity. While not the main cause of quakes, the discovery could potentially improve earthquake prediction models.

Physics Fusion: In the century-old battle between Einstein's general relativity and quantum mechanics, a peace treaty might finally be on the cards. A new theory proposes that gravity isn’t a fundamental force of nature but emerges from quantum entropy, potentially bridging the gap between two disciplines. The framework modifies Einstein’s equations, treating spacetime as a quantum operator — a potential game-changer in the hunt for quantum gravity.

Digital Detox: A new study reveals that just three days of smartphone restriction can trigger brain activity changes similar to withdrawal from addictive substances like alcohol. Researchers claim to have found shifts in dopamine- and serotonin-linked regions, which regulate mood and cravings. The effect was seen in both heavy and regular users, suggesting that phone addiction may be more than just a buzzword.

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NEW TECH

Our favorite new tech gadgets this week

1. Saga HoloBike: A holographic training bike for immersive indoor rides. It packs a panoramic light-field display that creates a 3D trail experience — no VR headset required.

2. Enroad Nomadix Pro: A smart roof box for vehicle storage. It’s designed for tool-free installation and features a full-width tail light, a fingerprint lock, and a solar-powered battery for on-the-go charging.

3. Circular Ring 2: One of the world’s most advanced health-tracking, subscription-free smart rings. It tracks heart rhythm, HRV, SpO2, and 140+ biometrics with AI-driven insights and has a 7-day battery life.

4. SterilPure Ultrasonic Dishwasher: A portable ultrasonic dishwasher that turns any sink into a high-powered cleaning station. Using active oxygen cleaning and 37,000Hz vibrations, it can break down grease easily and sanitize dishes.

SOCIAL SIGNALS

What’s trending in Tech on socials this week

Gray Matter to Glass: Almost 2,000 years after Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried entire Roman towns in ashes, scientists have uncovered how extreme heat from the eruption vitrified a man’s brain, turning it into organic glass.

Reality Check: With the launch of GPT 4.5 last week, users flooded Reddit with prompts and screenshots of the chatbot giving extremely profound life advice like this. One Redditor had had enough, warning ChatGPT users that the bot is a tool, not a friend.

Time Trap: Writer Tim Urban delivered an interesting insight in a post on X — Earth is 4.5B years old and has about a billion years of habitability left before the sun's increasing luminosity dries up the oceans. This would mean that humanity has evolved over 80% of the way through this window "just in the nick of time".

Word Wizard: Wharton professor Ethan Mollick posted a study on X, which found that AI-assisted writing now powers up to 24% of corporate press releases, 18% of financial complaints, and 14% of UN statements, signaling a new norm in digital communication.

Manners Matter: A new survey finds that most ChatGPT users are polite with the bot simply because “it’s the nice thing to do”, and it’s got Redditors talking about human nature.

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ONLY GOOD NEWS

A healthy dose of optimism to kickstart your week

Resilience Riddle: A woman with Down syndrome stunned scientists by evading dementia and staying cognitively sharp for decades — despite her brain showing heavy Alzheimer’s pathology. Her case suggests hidden protective factors, possibly genetic or lifestyle-based, that could reshape dementia research. Experts hope unlocking her resilience could lead to breakthroughs in treatment for millions at risk.

Sight Solution: In a medical first, scientists are successfully repairing 'irreversible' eye damage by using a patient’s own cells as repair kits. A new stem cell therapy has successfully repaired severe corneal damage in 93% of trial subjects by transplanting stem cells from the patient’s healthy eyes. If it holds up in future trials, the therapy could offer hope to those with previously irreversible blindness.

Math Marvel: A Penn State grad student just cracked a 100-year-old math problem that engineers had gotten all wrong. Expanding on century-old aerodynamic equations, Divya Tyagi’s breakthrough optimizes wind turbine performance by factoring in forces that were previously overlooked. Even a 1% efficiency gain could lead to a significant boost in renewable energy output, making wind power more sustainable and cost-effective.

Holy Grail: A permanent cure for diabetes might finally be within reach thanks to a recent discovery by the team at Weill Cornell Medicine. They’ve developed a new cell transplantation technique that pairs insulin-producing cells with engineered blood vessel cells. This approach ensures better survival and function of transplanted cells. If it holds up, it could lead to a long-term cure for millions living with the disease.

Flu Spotter: Scientists at Washington University claim to have developed a biosensor that can spot airborne H5N1 bird flu in under 5 minutes. Unlike conventional tests that take over 10 hours, this device offers real-time monitoring, helping farms respond quicker to outbreaks. Designed for affordability and scalability, the technology could also detect other viruses like SARS-CoV-2, potentially revolutionizing disease tracking and prevention.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Watch: Blue Ghost makes historic moon landing in stunning footage

It’s been a huge week for space travel. US-based space firm Firefly Aerospace became the first commercial company to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon. The Blue Ghost lander touched down in the Mare Crisium region — a prominent lunar basin visible from Earth — for a two-week research mission.

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