Sunday Special: A major setback for Blue Origin

Welcome back, Superhuman. You win some, you lose some. After a string of successful launches, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin took a major hit this week when its New Glenn rocket went up in flames for the world to see. Though thankfully no one was hurt, the incident casts a huge shadow over NASA’s mission to return humans to the Moon by 2028.

1. Blue Origin’s rocket explodes in major blow to NASA's Moon plans: Jeff Bezos' New Glenn rocket burst into flames during an engine test at Cape Canaveral on Thursday, destroying the booster and Blue Origin's only operational launch pad for the vehicle. This has dire implications that extend well beyond one rocket: Blue Origin was key to NASA's Artemis program. Experts predict the setback puts NASA's 2028 moon landing timeline in serious jeopardy. Here’s the video that’s got everyone talking.

2. James Webb just captured the full fury of a supermassive black hole: NASA's James Webb Telescope has clicked a stunning new image of Messier 77 (dubbed the Squid Galaxy), revealing why its centre blazes brighter than the trillion stars surrounding it. At 8M solar masses, the black hole at its heart is twice the size of the one in our galaxy, and unlike ours, it's actively devouring vast amounts of gas. The result is one of the brightest galactic nuclei ever photographed. You can see the photo here.

3. Innovative technique could make LASIK eye surgery obsolete: Scientists claim the technique dispels with lasers or incisions to correct vision, instead using mild electrical pulses applied through a platinum contact lens. The current temporarily softens the cornea so it can be molded into a new shape in about a minute, then hardens back into place. Early tests on rabbit eyes successfully corrected nearsightedness while leaving the tissue intact. Human trials are still years away, but costs could be far lower than LASIK.

4. A single infusion could potentially replace a lifetime of cholesterol meds: A single infusion of Eli Lilly's experimental gene-editing therapy slashed LDL cholesterol by up to 62% in early trial results, with the effects holding for up to 18 months. The therapy durably switches off the PCSK9 gene in liver cells, mimicking a rare natural variant that gives some people lifelong protection against heart disease. If it holds up in larger trials, it could possibly replace daily cholesterol medication with a single treatment.

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🌋 Right Place, Right Time: Viewers tuning in to watch an extremely rare volcanic eruption got an unexpected surprise when the livestream inadvertently caught something even rarer. Check out the viral footage here.

🌊 Into the Abyss: If someone told you this footage came from a distant moon, you’d probably believe them. It’s actually from the Mariana Trench, the deepest known point in the ocean and home to some of the weirdest-looking sea creatures.

❓Did You Know: The webcam has one of the most unexpected origin stories in technology. Before it transformed communication, entertainment, and security, it was invented to solve a surprisingly silly office problem.

🐙 Deep Discovery: A golf-ball-sized octopus with eerie blue tones has been discovered nearly 5,900 feet underwater by the Charles Darwin Foundation, and scientists think that it evolved in isolation from everything we know. See it here.

🌕 Lunar Drive: When humans return to the Moon, it won’t just be about taking “one small step” anymore. NASA just dropped new footage of the manned vehicle it plans to deploy on the Moon — a glimpse into what future Moon “road trips” might look like.

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Vital Signs: Prenatal ultrasounds are basically just snapshots. A lot can change between appointments. Now, a team at Stanford has developed UPatch, a flexible ultrasound patch that sticks to the abdomen and tracks fetal blood flow in real time. In tests across 62 pregnancies, it matched clinical ultrasound accuracy, and in one case, successfully flagged dangerously abnormal blood circulation to the fetus, possibly saving a baby’s life. It's still a clinical prototype, but the implications for high-risk pregnancies are enormous.

Smart Ink: Like all cancers, melanoma is at its most treatable when it’s caught early, but some melanoma tumors are too tiny to spot with the naked eye. Now, a Canadian research team has developed a system that uses microneedles to deposit nanoparticle sensors just beneath the skin that map tiny heat differences produced by cancer cells. In lab models, it detected tumors just 4 days after formation. The researchers say the “intelligent tattoo" could make biopsies for early-stage melanoma a thing of the past.

Reverse Course: Paralysis is permanent because damaged nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord simply stop regrowing after a certain point in development. Now, scientists report that this block may be reversible. Using lab-grown brain and spinal cord organoids, the team identified the gene network that switches off regeneration, then switched it back on using a drug called 'lynestrenol'. If true, it could potentially lead us toward more effective treatments for spinal injuries and neurological diseases.

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Zain, Faiq, and the Superhuman AI team