Sunday Special: Rare squid makes on-camera debut

Welcome back, Superhuman. While we’re busy looking up at the sky in awe of rockets that may one day take us to new worlds, there are still wonders left to be explored beneath us, deep in the ocean — the first sighting of a rare squid gave us one such glimpse this week. Also: flying cars may be (much) closer than you think.

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

Deep Reveal: For the first time ever, researchers have captured footage of the elusive Antarctic gonate squid out and about in its natural habitat — a species previously known only from dead specimens caught in fishing nets. The massive 3-foot-long cephalopod, sporting battle scars and impressive tentacle hooks, made its on-camera debut at 7,000 feet beneath the Southern Ocean. You can check out the historic footage here.

Speech Surge: Scientists at UC Davis just made a major leap in neurotechnology, helping a man with ALS communicate through a “first of its kind” brain-computer interface. Unlike other brain chips that simply translate brain signals into plain text, this new technology pumps out actual speech — capturing tone, pacing, and even melody — for a far more natural, conversational experience. While still in the early stages, it offers real hope to those who’ve lost the ability to speak due to various neurological conditions.

Sky Cruise: Silicon Valley's Alef Aeronautics is putting the final touches on what they're billing as "the first true flying car," with production models potentially hitting the market by the end of this year. The all-electric Model A has a 110-mile flight range, reportedly uses less energy per trip than a Tesla, and has already racked up 3,400 pre-orders worth approximately $1B. While the initial $300K price tag is steep, the company plans to eventually bring costs down to regular car levels.

Dream Dial: A company called REMSpace claims to have achieved the first-ever dream-to-dream communication by using lucid dreaming as a bridge between sleepers. In an experiment, they transmitted a word to one dreamer via earbuds, had them repeat it while still asleep, and then relayed that recording to a second dreamer who confirmed the message upon waking. If true, this primitive form of unconscious messaging suggests our sleeping brains are potentially more connected than we ever imagined.

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NEW TECH

Our favorite new tech gadgets this week

1. Kamingo: A compact smart converter that turns your regular bike into an e-bike in less than 10 seconds.

2. Kabata Dumbbells: The world’s first AI-powered dumbbells that act as your personal trainer, keeping track of your reps and offering real-time form correction.

3. Xbox Ally X: The hype around this handheld gaming device has been unreal. It runs the full Xbox experience, boots straight into a custom Xbox interface, and lets you continue progress across devices.

4. Astrohaus Wordrunner: A mechanical keyboard built specially for writers. It packs a physical word counter that ticks as you type, a built-in session timer, and shortcut keys for editing.

SOCIAL SIGNALS

What’s trending in tech on socials this week

🎵 Techno Tunes: In 1961, a computer at Bell Labs in New Jersey performed "Daisy Bell”, an 1892 tune by Harry Dacre. It became the first song ever sung by a computer, and the resurfaced recording of the historic moment blew up on Reddit this week.

✈️ Zipping the Sky: A video of a man flying an Aerolite 103 personal airplane, which requires no pilot license or registration, has social media buzzing. One commenter described the innovative technology as "flying a kite with a lawnmower engine”.

⚛️ Quantum Leap: Chinese scientists claim to have built a new quantum processor that operates a quadrillion times faster than the top supercomputers we have today, giving Google’s Willow chip a run for its money if true.

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ONLY GOOD NEWS

A healthy dose of optimism to kickstart your week

Sunken Fortune: Scientists have finally confirmed the identity of the legendary Spanish galleon San José — considered the "world's richest shipwreck" — off the coast of Colombia. The 1708 shipwreck, carrying an estimated 200 tons of gold, silver, and uncut gemstones, is valued at $17B in today's market and was finally identified using 3D reconstructions of gold coins minted in 1707. Now, Colombia and Spain are locked in a legal battle over who gets to claim the shipwreck when recovery efforts eventually kick off.

Handling the Tooth: Researchers at Tufts have developed a bioengineered tooth that acts like the real thing by growing into the gum and reconnecting with nerves. The implant features a biodegradable layer loaded with stem cells and proteins that trigger nerve growth, restoring sensory feedback like pressure and temperature. Early trials in rodents showed real-tooth-like function within six weeks. If it scales, it could potentially have major implications not only in dental care but in other bone implants as well.

Vanishing Act: HIV’s superpower has always been its ability to lie dormant and hide in plain sight. Now, Australian researchers are fighting back with a new mRNA approach that could draw the virus out of hiding. Using specially engineered lipid nanoparticles, the team successfully targeted dormant HIV in white blood cells — something previously thought impossible. With initial lab results showing promising outcomes, this potential pathway to a cure offers hope to the 40M people across the world living with HIV.

Super Sight: Chinese scientists claim to have built an artificial retina that not only restores vision in blind mice and monkeys but also enables them to see infrared light — something naturally impossible for mammals. The technology uses tellurium nanowires in a mesh-like network just 150 nanometers thick (1,000 times thinner than human hair) to mimic how photoreceptor cells work. While human trials are still far in the future, the technology represents the first step towards bionic eyes that may possibly restore vision.

SUNDAY SCIENCE TRIVIA

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Zain and the Superhuman AI team