Sunday Special: Scientists discover ancient Kraken-like octopus

Welcome back, Superhuman. A terrifying sea monster from Norse legend that used to give the Vikings nightmares may have been closer to reality than we had initially thought. Meanwhile, an astronaut from Artemis II has just dropped the first-ever recording of an ‘Earthset’, a fascinating phenomenon that shows the Earth ‘setting’ behind the surface of the Moon.

SCIENCE SUNDAY

The most interesting scientific and technological breakthroughs this week

1. An ancient Kraken-like octopus that may have dwarfed today's giant squid: Norse legend may have been onto something. Scientists have confirmed that Nanaimoteuthis haggarti, a finned octopus that prowled Cretaceous seas 86–72M years ago, grew up to 61 feet long — bigger than a school bus and larger than any known invertebrate alive today. The discovery potentially rewrites our understanding of ancient ocean food webs, proving that giant invertebrates once ruled the seas.

2. First-ever gene therapy that restores hearing in deaf patients gets FDA nod: The breakthrough gene therapy, dubbed Otarmeni, restores hearing in children born with otoferlin deafness, a rare condition caused by a single faulty gene that prevents the inner ear from transmitting sound to the brain. In clinical trials, 80% of treated patients could hear without implants, and roughly 30% achieved fully normal hearing. This may potentially open the door to treating over 150 known genetic causes of hearing loss.

3. The strongest chemical hints yet that Mars could have hosted life: Using a rare experimental technique, NASA’s Curiosity rover has found seven diverse organic compounds in a lakebed rock in Mars' Gale crater, five of which had never previously been detected on the planet. Though this doesn't confirm life ever existed on the Red Planet, it does signify that Mars clearly had the right ingredients. The findings add to evidence that returning rock samples to Earth may be the only way to settle the question for good.

4. Astronauts capture video of the first-ever ‘Earthset’ behind the moon's horizon: Artemis II astronaut Reid Wiseman just dropped footage of the 'Earthset', a phenomenon never recorded on video before. It shows Earth, a small marbled blue-and-white orb, slowly disappearing behind the moon's gray surface against the pitch-black void of space. The video has racked up over 11M views, and is being hailed as a modern sequel to Apollo 8's iconic 'Earthrise’ photograph from 1968. Watch the iconic footage here.

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NEW TECH

Our favorite new tech gadgets this week

1. ShapeScale: This fitness device combines a 3D body scanner with a weighing scale, allowing you to monitor fat loss and muscle gain more effectively. 

2. Dune: A context-aware keypad for Mac that adapts to what you’re doing. It reads which app is in the foreground and automatically changes what its keys do based on what you’re working on. Starts shipping next month.

3. Nuwa Pen: A smart pen that uses a triple-camera and AI to digitize your writing on any paper in real time, and even transcribe and organize your notes — no screen needed.

4. Smart Swim 2 Goggles: These smart goggles show you your stroke rate, time, pace, and heart rate as you swim, crunching that data in real-time.

SOCIAL SIGNALS

What’s trending in science on socials this week

🌍️ Ground Script: Using real satellite images of rivers, forests, and farmland that naturally resemble letters, NASA has created a viral tool that lets you spell out your name using the Earth’s landscapes. Check out what your name looks like here.

🧠 Brain Drain: There’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that a recent study claims that people hooked on doom-scrolling damage their brain activity and weaken their focus. The good news: there’s a surprisingly simple solution.

🌌 Planet Watch: We’re the first generation in history that’s able to casually watch the surface of another planet like it’s drone footage. NASA has dropped stunning new visuals of Mars in unprecedented detail, showing the silent, red deserts of a world no human has ever stepped on.

🗺️ Cosmic Scale: The Universe is far bigger than you could ever imagine. Here’s the largest 3D map of the cosmos ever created to help you put its sheer scale into perspective.

🎮️ Block Party: A group of MIT students took a campus building and turned it into a gaming console. They rigged its windows with LEDs and turned the entire skyscraper into a giant playable game of Tetris at midnight.

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ONLY GOOD NEWS

A healthy dose of optimism to kickstart your week

Gut Feeling: Harvard scientists claim to have identified a specific chain reaction linking gut bacteria to depression: a common bacterium called Morganella morganii interacts with an industrial pollutant found in everyday products, producing a rogue molecule that triggers the release of inflammatory proteins strongly associated with depression. The finding opens the door to immune-targeting treatments for depression, and suggests your next antidepressant might work on your gut, not just your brain.

Wake-Up Call: For deaf and hard-of-hearing sleepers, missing a fire alarm at night could be highly life-threatening. Now, scientists have built a smart pillow sleeve that packs four haptic actuators woven directly into fabric to deliver intense, targeted vibrations strong enough to rouse heavy sleepers. It connects to a smartphone to distinguish between fire alarms, burglar alerts, and incoming calls, each with a unique vibration pattern. The team is now seeking an industry partner to bring it to market.

Eye Opener: Scientists at UC Irvine say they’ve found that injecting a specific polyunsaturated fatty acid directly into the eye can restore visual function in older mice and reverse cellular aging markers in the retina. The key is a gene called ELOVL2, which controls the production of fatty acids essential for healthy vision but slows down as we age. If the therapy translates to humans, it could potentially offer a direct treatment for age-related macular degeneration, one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide.

SUNDAY SCIENCE TRIVIA

Sound of silence

Don’t Cheat: Here’s a video that allows you to hear what the room sounds like. Or you could read more about it here.

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