Sunday Special: Did scientists really de-extinct the dire wolf?

Biotech startup Colossal Biosciences took the internet by storm this week by claiming that they brought the dire wolf out of extinction — but there’s a twist in the tale. Also: more than a century since the Titanic met its fate, the doomed vessel still has lots of stories to tell.

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

Colossal Comeback: Our socials are blowing up this week with Colossal Biosciences’ latest "de-extinction breakthrough". Just weeks after rolling out the world’s first woolly mice, the biotech startup dropped videos of resurrected dire wolves — Ice Age predators that went extinct more than 10,000 years ago — marketing them as "near-perfect recreations" of the species.

But some in the scientific community are throwing cold water on these claims:

• Colossal made 20 unique precision edits among the 2.5B base pairs of genes, leading scientists to claim that the pups are just "genetically modified gray wolves".

• Some experts claim 5 of these edits were for coat color, with the company declaring success primarily based on the wolves having white fur — a loose definition of what actually makes up a species.

• Paleogeneticist Dr. Nic Rawlence explained that ancient dire wolf DNA is too degraded to clone, comparing it to "fresh DNA in a 500-degree oven overnight".

Noggin Networks: Georgia Tech scientists have unveiled ultra-thin, motion-resistant brain chips that slip between hair follicles, ushering in a new era of truly wearable brain–computer interfaces (BCIs). These micro-sensors stay locked in place even while walking or running, delivering 96.4% accuracy in reading brain signals — all without requiring any specialist training. In a demo, users made AR video calls using only their thoughts.

Sunken Secrets: A new 3D-scan of the Titanic has revealed haunting new details of her final hours, confirming that it was small hull punctures — each the size of an A4 sheet — that ultimately sealed the ship’s fate. The digital model also revealed evidence that the heroic engineers kept power running till the very end to launch as many lifeboats as possible, confirming eyewitness accounts that lights remained on as the ship sank.

Dark Dismissal: Dr. Richard Lieu of The University of Alabama dropped a radical new model that tosses out both dark matter and dark energy in explaining the nature of the universe. Instead, Lieu proposes the universe expands through a series of rapid "temporal singularities" that happen too quickly to observe, potentially explaining why dark matter and dark energy have remained undetectable for so long.

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NEW TECH

Our favorite new tech gadgets this week

1. Zera Sonic X: A portable high-performance water flosser that uses air-powered water jets to deliver a strong, steady stream that deep-cleans between teeth and along the gumline.

2. Planck SSD: The world’s smallest phone-first SSD, built for people who need portable high-speed storage. It records high-resolution video directly from iPhones and other USB-C devices without frame drops or storage limits.

3. Spicerr Spice Dispenser:  The world’s first AI-powered spice dispenser, which packs 6 airtight spice capsules, auto-inventory tracking, real-time freshness tracking, and auto-adjusted seasoning based on your taste buds.

4. Nintendo Switch 2: The hype around this gaming console has been unreal. It will allow users to voice chat, video call, and share screens with friends using GameChat, which is built directly into the system. Pre-orders are live now.

SOCIAL SIGNALS

What’s trending in tech on socials this week

⚔️ Cellular Showdown: A video showing a T-cell — a type of white blood cell that plays a central role in the immune system — taking out a cancer cell has got Reddit users talking.

👮 Fatal Forecast: In a move that many users on Reddit are deeming dystopian, the UK is reportedly developing a “murder prediction” tool that will flag people who are most likely to kill.

📱 Nostalgic Nosedive: A video of innovative mobile phone designs from the 2000s has got X users remembering the good old days.

🌌 Space Souvenir: Imagine holding a space rock older than Earth itself. A Redditor posted a photo of themselves holding a chunk of Erg Chech 002 (EC 002), believed to be a fragment of a chondritic protoplanet that’s over 4.5B years old.

ONLY GOOD NEWS

A healthy dose of optimism to kickstart your week

On The Beat: Researchers at the University of Missouri have built a starfish-shaped wearable that uses AI to monitor heart health with over 90% accuracy. Its five-arm design keeps sensors steady on the skin, offering more reliable data than traditional wearables, and the device links up with an app that sends health updates directly to doctors — a promising step toward smarter, more reliable heart health monitoring from home.

Double Duty: A groundbreaking new study found that NU-9 — an experimental drug originally developed for ALS — improved brain cell health and memory in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease. Instead of targeting symptoms, NU-9 tackles the root issue: toxic protein buildup inside brain cells, a common cause of both diseases. Though it’s still early days, the study is an encouraging step toward a single drug that nips multiple neurodegenerative diseases in the bud.

Deep Dive: Brain tech startup Nudge dropped "Nudge Zero", an MRI-compatible helmet that can deliver targeted treatments to deep brain regions that currently require invasive surgery to access. Unlike current brain stimulation methods that only reach surface areas, Nudge Zero can potentially access any brain region with pinpoint accuracy, which has huge implications for addiction, chronic pain, and anxiety disorders.

Follicle Fortune: Scientists may have found the key to stop baldness. A recent study has identified a protein, MCL-1, that helps hair follicle stem cells stay alive — and without it, bald spots don’t grow back. Researchers found that switching off MCL-1 in mice led to hair loss and blocked regrowth, suggesting the protein protects the cells that drive new hair growth. There are still "many ifs and maybes", but the discovery could potentially lead to new ways to stop baldness before it starts.

SUNDAY SCIENCE TRIVIA

And here’s the result from last week’s trivia: More than half of you got it right!

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