Microbes From Ötzi the Iceman Are Still Showing Signs Of Life, The World’s Largest Scorpion Was 1 Meter Long, And Much More This Week

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5,300-Year-Old Microbes From Ötzi the Iceman Are Still Showing Signs Of Life – And Growing In A Lab

This man perished over 5,300 years ago, but his microbiome may still be tingling with life. Scientists have managed to recover bacteria, fungi, and other microbes from the frozen body of Ötzi the Iceman. Remarkably, some of the ancient yeasts were even able to grow and reproduce, raising the extraordinary possibility that life still lingers within the famous mummy. Read the full story here

Largest Ever Map Of Magnetic Fields Between Stars And Galaxies Released – 5 Times Bigger Than All Previous Maps Combined

Radio astronomers have released the largest-ever map of the magnetic fields between stars, as well as the ones that stretch between galaxies. The map, five times larger than all previous efforts combined, will help uncover the role of magnetism in the formation of cosmic structures. Read the full story here

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415-Million-Year-Old Fossils Confirm The World’s Largest Scorpion Was A Meter-Long Apex Predator That May Have Hunted On Land And Underwater

Museums are home to many mysteries. For all their labels and information panels, there remain specimens that elude identification for decades – even hundreds of years – after their discovery. Just ask the world’s largest scorpion. Read the full story here

RIP MAVEN: NASA Ends Recovery Attempts For Mission That Discovered Aurorae And Atmosphere Loss On Mars

NASA has announced the end of the pioneering MAVEN Mars mission. Nobody had heard from the spacecraft since it experienced an "anomaly" last December as it came from back behind Mars and went into safe mode. Despite many attempts at getting back in touch, none was successful. On June 3, after 11 years, the space agency decided to end the mission. Read the full story here

Crab-Hunting Octopuses Gazing Into Mirrors Demonstrate A Kind Of Spatial Awareness Thought To Be Unique To Vertebrates

New research that taught octopuses how to use a mirror has demonstrated they exhibit a kind of spatial cognition that had previously only been documented in vertebrates like mammals and birds. In pursuit of a reward, the octopuses were able to orientate their attacks using information from a mirror that revealed where behind them a crab was lurking. That’s right, they gave octopuses rear-view mirrors. Read the full story here

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Feature of the week: 

Uncovering 12,000 Years Of Lost History From The Air, The Desert Reveals Mysterious Structures That Have Stumped Archaeologists For Decades

Fly over the deserts of West Asia and you might not see much beyond the jagged mountainous rocks and endless dunes, fluctuating in tone from pale gray and earthy brown to vivid orange. Look more closely, however, and you might spot something peculiar poking out of the barren landscape: ancient stone structures, larger than a city block, crafted by human hands millennia ago. We spoke to Robert Bewley of the Aerial Archaeology in Jordan project about documenting these wonders from the sky.  Read the full story here

More content:

Have you seen our e-magazine, CURIOUS? Issue 47, June 2026, is available now. This month, we asked, “Should You Clone Your Pet?” – 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 21, we ask, “Are There Plants That Can Photosynthesize By Moonlight?”

Our Break It Down podcast now has a new monthly format, coming at you in both audio and visual. So tune in each month to hear about some of the wildest science stories and adventures we’ve been on. Kick off this month with “Artemis II Records, Neanderthal Not-Hybrids, And Introducing ‘Moon Joy’”

The Big Questions season 6 returns on June 18, 2026, so here's our season 5 bonus episode to tide you over until then: Can Magic Be Used As A Tool In Science? You can catch up on the whole of season 5 here.

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