From a historic Moon launch to a collapsing freshwater migration and a QR code smaller than a bacterium, this week’s science headlines span the cosmos to the nanoscale. Meanwhile, chemistry labs delivered two surprise discoveries, and a new study reveals that female mantises pack a surprisingly powerful punch.
1. Artemis II: Humans Head for the Moon for the First Time in 50 Years
NASA’s Artemis II mission is set to launch today from Kennedy Space Center, sending four astronauts on a ten-day journey around the Moon — the first crewed voyage beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The mission marks several historic firsts: Glover will become the first person of colour, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-American to travel to the Moon’s vicinity. Launching aboard the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, the crew will loop around the far side of the Moon before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10.
Think About It: Why do you think it has taken over 50 years for humans to return to the Moon, and what new challenges might astronauts face on longer lunar missions?
Image credit: NASA/CBS News — view source image
Originally reported by: NASA
2. Freshwater Fish Migrations Are Collapsing Worldwide
A major new United Nations report has revealed that populations of migratory freshwater fish have plummeted by 81% since 1970 — one of the steepest declines recorded for any major vertebrate group. Released at the Convention on Migratory Species COP15 in Brazil, the assessment found that 325 species now need urgent international protection. Dam construction, habitat fragmentation, pollution, and climate change are cutting off the river routes these fish depend on for spawning, feeding, and survival. Key river systems including the Amazon, Mekong, Danube, and Nile are identified as priorities. One remarkable species, the dorado catfish, undertakes an 11,000 km migration from Andean headwaters to coastal nurseries — the longest freshwater fish migration ever recorded.
Think About It: How might the decline of migratory fish affect human communities that depend on rivers for food and livelihoods?
Image credit: Zeb Hogan / Convention on Migratory Species — view source image
Originally reported by: World Wildlife Fund
3. The World’s Smallest QR Code — Smaller Than a Bacterium
Scientists at TU Wien in Austria, working with data storage company Cerabyte, have created a QR code measuring just 1.98 square micrometres — smaller than most bacteria and only visible with an electron microscope. Each pixel is just 49 nanometres across, roughly ten times smaller than the wavelength of visible light. The code was engraved into a thin ceramic layer using focused ion beams, and the achievement has been confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records. But the real significance lies in data storage: this technique could pack over 2 terabytes onto a single A4 sheet of paper, and because ceramic is extraordinarily stable, the data could survive for centuries or even millennia without electricity or maintenance.
Think About It: What advantages could ceramic-based data storage have over current technologies like hard drives and cloud servers, especially in terms of sustainability?
Image credit: TU Wien — view source image
Originally reported by: Live Science
4. Female Mantises Grow Up to Strike Harder Than Males
If you think the praying mantis is impressive, wait until you meet the giant rainforest mantis. A team from Kiel University in Germany has produced the first-ever measurements of this species’ predatory strike force from juvenile to adulthood — and the results are surprising. While young male and female mantises start out at similar sizes and strength, adult females grow significantly larger and deliver substantially more powerful hunting strikes than males. Even more intriguingly, the females hit harder than their muscle size alone would predict, suggesting an unknown biomechanical mechanism is amplifying their strike force. The study, published in Physiological Entomology, tracked the Australian species Hierodula majuscula, whose lightning-fast strikes last just 50 to 100 milliseconds. Researcher Thies Buscher described the extra power as a new unanswered question for future investigation.
Think About It: Why might there be an evolutionary advantage in female mantises being larger and striking harder than males? What other animals show significant differences between sexes?
Image credit: T. Buscher et al / Physiological Entomology, 2026 — view source image
Originally reported by: Science News
5. A Lab Mistake at Cambridge Reveals a Powerful New Way to Modify Drugs
A failed experiment at the University of Cambridge has led to a discovery that could transform drug development. PhD researcher David Vahey was testing a photocatalyst when he removed it during a control experiment — and found that the reaction worked just as well without it. The result is a new light-powered chemical reaction, published in Nature Synthesis, that uses a simple LED lamp to forge carbon-carbon bonds under mild conditions. Dubbed an anti-Friedel-Crafts reaction, the technique allows chemists to make precise modifications to complex drug molecules at the final stages of development, rather than rebuilding them from scratch. The approach avoids toxic chemicals and heavy metals, making drug discovery potentially faster, cheaper, and greener.
Think About It: Many famous discoveries (penicillin, X-rays, Teflon) came from unexpected laboratory results. What qualities do scientists need to recognise when a mistake might actually be something important?
Image credit: Nordin Catic / St John’s College, Cambridge — view source image
Originally reported by: ScienceDaily
6. Scientists Discover an Entirely New Chemical Reaction
An interdisciplinary team led by Flinders University in Australia has announced the discovery of a previously unknown type of chemical reaction. The trisulfide metathesis reaction involves molecules containing chains of three sulfur atoms spontaneously swapping partners at room temperature — without needing heat, light, or catalysts. This is remarkable because sulfur-sulfur bonds typically require temperatures of 80-150 degrees C and hours of reaction time to rearrange. The team, who published their findings in Nature Chemistry, have already demonstrated practical applications: they used the reaction to modify the anti-tumour drug calicheamicin and to build a novel recyclable plastic that can be assembled and disassembled on demand.
Think About It: How could a reaction that works at room temperature without catalysts change the way we manufacture medicines and materials?
Image credit: Rapeepong Puttakumwong/Getty/ScienceAlert — view source image
Originally reported by: ScienceAlert
That’s your science roundup for this week! As always, science moves fast — from the launchpad to the lab bench. If any of these stories sparked your curiosity, share them with a classmate or drop a comment below. See you next week!
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