Sunday Special: A visitor from the stars

Welcome back, Superhuman. Hold the welcome mat — our solar system just got an unexpected visitor from the stars, and it’s grabbed headlines and the attention of astronomers across the world. Meanwhile, scientists just turned up the volume on a medical breakthrough that could someday make lifelong genetic deafness a thing of the past.

SCIENCE SUNDAY

The most interesting scientific discoveries and breakthroughs this week

1. NASA confirms rare interstellar object zipping across our solar system: Astronomers are buzzing over "3I/Atlas" as only the third interstellar object ever detected in our solar system. It’s whizzing through space at 60km/s, with this one possibly being the largest yet observed. Scientists estimate thousands of similar visitors tend to go unnoticed, but with new observatories popping up, these rare glimpses could become more commonplace, offering unprecedented insights into the building blocks of life.

2. New study might close a century-long debate in neuroscience: If you found yourself in a ‘Neuroscience 101’ classroom any time in the last 100 years, you’d likely learn that our brains stop producing new neurons after childhood. Now, a new study has seemingly confirmed findings from 2013 claiming that the hippocampus (the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory) forms new neurons daily, the exact rate of which varies with individuals and age. If true, this could potentially lead to new treatments for cognitive decline.

3. Scientists raise hope for life on the Red Planet with a new discovery: Harvard scientists claim to have successfully grown green algae in Mars-like conditions, using specialized bioplastic "shelters" that block harmful radiation while letting in light for photosynthesis. The experiment could potentially lead to self-sustaining habitats for future humans on Mars, made from algae-derived materials that can grow and replicate themselves.

4. New method potentially cuts waiting times for lab-grown lungs: Japanese researchers have developed a revolutionary technique to transform ordinary connective tissue into specialized lung cells in just 7-10 days, rather than the months it typically takes. Using a mix of just 4 genes, the method reprograms mouse fibroblasts into Alveolar Epithelial Type 2 (AT2) cells, which then produce surfactant and repair lung damage. If it scales to humans, it could offer hope for millions suffering from severe respiratory diseases.

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NEW TECH

Our favorite new tech gadgets this week

1. Nothing Headphones (1): An over-ear audio with KEF-tuned sound and a cassette-style transparent shell. It packs a roller for volume, a 35-hour battery with noise canceling, and quick switching between apps.

2. Gozney Tread: A modular oven and accessory system designed to be the world's most portable pizza oven. It’s built for high-heat cooking anywhere.

3. Hyve Delivery Pod: A smart delivery pod that locks packages and stops theft. It anchors itself to your porch, uses a motion-triggered alarm, and sends instant alerts.

4. Oclean X Ultra S: The world’s first Wi-Fi-enabled smart toothbrush, which tracks your brushing in real-time with AI-powered bone conduction technology and delivers more than 84,000 movements per minute.

SOCIAL SIGNALS

What’s trending in tech on socials this week

🔒️ Prison Break: Chronic procrastination is one of the most overlooked problems in the world. Famous neuroscientist and podcast host Andrew Huberman’s 7-step protocol to escape procrastination is blowing up on X.

🦠 Doubling Up: To treat syphilis, people used to be infected with malaria. The high body temperature caused by malaria killed the syphilis-causing bacteria, after which the malaria was treated. This unusual idea went on to win the Nobel Prize.

👂️ Hear Me Out: Elon Musk said that his Neuralink brain chips offer a clear path to restore hearing, even in people who suffer from hearing loss since birth. The post blew up on X this week, and has got social media users pumped about the future of the company.

🌊 Sky Dive: After the skies, drones may take over the seas. A group of undergrad students built a drone that flies and dives deep into the water as part of their thesis project. Watch it in action here.

🛏️ Peak Laziness: A man in China has a weird new take on how to deal with Monday Morning Blues. He’s created a bed-on-wheels so he never has to get out of bed. Commenters on Reddit are split about its use cases.

ONLY GOOD NEWS

A healthy dose of optimism to kickstart your week

Sound Investment: Scientists may have just found the mute button for genetic deafness. They claim to have successfully restored hearing in deaf patients using a single injection of gene therapy. The treatment showed dramatic results in all 10 participants — ranging from ages 1 to 24 — with significant hearing improvement appearing just weeks after injection. For now, it’s only applicable to a certain kind of gene mutation. However, researchers are working expanding the approach to other genes that cause more common forms of deafness.

Sips from the Ocean: Researchers say they’ve created a 3D-printed aerogel that transforms seawater into drinkable water using nothing but sunlight and a plastic cover. Unlike previous materials that saw huge drops in efficiency as they scaled up, this system holds on to its full desalination capacity regardless of size, thanks to its precisely engineered vertical microchannels. In outdoor tests, the material produced about 3 tablespoons of clean drinking water after 6 hours in natural sunlight.

Sugar Solution: Scientists have developed a device containing insulin-producing cells that could let type-1 diabetes patients produce their own insulin without invasive surgery. Lab tests show 90% cell survival for over 3 weeks, with similar technology already demonstrating 6 months of normal glucose control in diabetic mice. Human trials are next on the agenda; if they’re successful, they could potentially free millions of type-1 diabetics from constant injections and strict dietary restrictions.

Heart of the Matter: In a world-first, Australian scientists have created tiny lab-grown hearts the size of chia seeds. The team has been using the models to dive deep into childhood heart diseases that were previously considered impossible to study in the lab. They’ve already recreated key features of genetic heart conditions and even spotted a promising drug that could improve tissue function in their models — potentially fast-tracking treatments while reducing reliance on animal testing.

SUNDAY SCIENCE TRIVIA

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Don’t Cheat: You can read more about the crazy phenomenon here.

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