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This week, palaeontologists have now concluded that the first great forests were neither fungus nor plant but an unknown lifeform, an ultrasound machine and training have been credited as key tools used to tackle the medical emergency on the ISS that occurred earlier this month, and rare footage has captured African sharptooth catfish casually strolling out of the water under the cover of darkness. Finally, as Perseverance completes its Martian marathon, it’s about to break another record.
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“We Didn't Even Think About Looking”: Broom-Wielding Veronika Shows Tool Use In Cows Isn't So Absurd After All
An Austrian cow named Veronika has just joined the auspicious – and small – club of animals known to have the ability to use tools, and frankly, we’re a little bit in love. The University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna received the footage of a Swiss brown cow in Carinthia, southern Austria, using a rake to scratch her own back. Had Gary Larson’s “Cow tools” been a prophetic vision? Read the full story here
67,800-Year-Old Hand Stencils Found Deep In A Cave Just Became The World's Oldest Rock Art
On an idyllic tropical island, archaeologists have found a cave wall that's been carefully adorned with pigment in an oddly familiar, yet wonderfully unique style. Geochemical analysis revealed that this prehistoric masterpiece was created at least 67,800 years ago, making it the oldest known rock art ever discovered. Read the full story here
The First Great Forests Were Neither Fungus Nor Plant, But Lifeforms Without Living Descendants
The question of where to place Prototaxites, the Devonian Era’s largest land species, on the tree of life appears to be answered. These fossils have been enigmas for almost two centuries, and palaeontologists have now concluded that’s because they were truly unlike anything modern, a lineage snuffed out by remorseless planetary change. Read the full story here
Ultrasound Machine And Training Credited As Key To Tackled Medical Emergency On The ISS
Crew-11 came down from the International Space Station (ISS) in the first-ever medical evacuation from space last week. The three astronauts and one cosmonaut had their first public appearance since their return to Earth in a press conference where they shared some details about the emergency while talking about the mission. Read the full story here
Rare Footage Shows African Sharptooth Catfish Going For A Casual Stroll On Land
On January 13, 2025, a lodge in South Africa caught a very unusual sight on camera. The nighttime footage shows several catfish gathering around the edge of a pool of water before shimmying up on land to do some exploring. Walking catfish? What will they think of next? Read the full story here
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Feature of the week:
Perseverance Has Completed A Marathon On Mars – And It Will Break Another Record Soon
For five years, NASA’s Perseverance rover has been studying the river delta inside Mars's Jezero Crater and beyond. Its goal is to better understand the Red Planet's past and the possibility of life on it. The rover has found what is currently the most promising rock that might suggest that there was once life on Mars (but we don't know that for sure, and bringing the samples home to study is a whole other issue). Today, though, we're focusing on something different: its movements. The rover's journey over the last five years has led it to not just new and incredible findings but a few travel records set on other worlds. Read the full story here
More content:
Have you seen our e-magazine, CURIOUS? Issue 42, January 2026, is available now. This month, we asked, “Why Do We Cry?” – check it out for exclusive interviews, book excerpts, long reads, and more.
PLUS, the We Have Questions podcast – an audio version of our coveted CURIOUS e-magazine column – continues. In episode 16, we ask, “How Did Frogs Become A Pregnancy Test For Humans?”
The Big Questions podcast season 5 has now concluded, but here’s one more bonus episode to help see you into 2026: Can Magic Be Used As A Tool In Science? You can catch up on the whole of season 5 here.
