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748 articles · page 13 of 16 · The Science front page

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Archaeology & Origins

Skull fractures suggest servants of Egypt's ancient kings were sacrificed

Court officials and craftspeople serving Egypt's earliest pharaohs may have been ritually sacrificed when their ruler died, according to new research that identified fractures in skulls from the royal cemetery of Umm el-Qa'ab near Abydos. The study, published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, re-examined remains excavated in the 1920s and provides physical evidence long sought by Egyptologists.

Space

NASA's Swift Observatory Rescue Mission Fails, But Officials Praise Effort

An attempt to save NASA's $500 million Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from falling out of orbit has failed, but government and commercial space officials are highlighting the unprecedented speed and collaboration behind the rescue effort. Katalyst Space Technologies built and launched a recovery spacecraft called Link under a $30 million contract, but a malfunction caused it to spin out of control, forcing NASA to abort the mission in August.

· 2 sources
Space

Russia's long-delayed Eagle crewed spacecraft still shows little sign of real hardware, report finds

Nearly two decades after Russia began work on a next-generation crewed spacecraft, the programme now known as Eagle (Orel) has yet to demonstrate meaningful flight hardware, according to an Ars Technica report. The project, which once involved possible European cooperation, has survived multiple name changes but critics say it may remain more a public relations exercise than a genuine engineering effort.

Science

Obesity drug retatrutide shows unprecedented weight loss in late-stage trial

Researchers have published late-stage clinical trial data for retatrutide, the latest obesity drug expected to be the most powerful yet, showing patients on the highest dose lost an average of 25% of their body weight after 80 weeks, with some losing 30% or more over two years. The results, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, also revealed significant improvements in knee pain, sleep apnea, and cardiometabolic health markers.

Science

WHO study links one in eight cancers to infections globally

A comprehensive study published by the World Health Organization in The Lancet Oncology reveals that approximately 12% of the world's new cancer cases in 2024, about 2.3 million cases, were likely caused by an infection. The research identifies five main infectious agents responsible for the majority of these cases: Helicobacter pylori, human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B, Epstein-Barr virus and hepatitis C.

· 2 sources
Science

Brisbane lab aims to grow rare blood for patients with unique transfusion needs

Bhabisara Gharti Magar, a young mother living in Banya, Queensland, discovered she had one of the world's rarest blood types — a subset of the Bombay blood group called Para-Bombay — while planning her pregnancy. Now, a new partnership between The University of Queensland and the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood aims to scale lab-grown blood production in a Brisbane laboratory, offering hope for people with rare blood types who face severe challenges finding suitable donors.

· 2 sources
Space

Starship reaches orbit for first time, deploys Starlink satellites before early Pacific splashdown

SpaceX's Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, achieved orbit for the first time on Monday, deploying 26 next-generation Starlink satellites before returning to Earth after a shortened flight. The milestone mission, which nearly failed when one of the upper stage's engines shut down shortly after launch, ended with a controlled splashdown in the Pacific Ocean about three hours into what was planned as a nearly 10-hour flight.

· 9 sources