Research roundup: 7 cool science stories we almost missed

Animal Behaviour, 2026. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2026.123491 (About DOI).

Human sperm gets lost in space

When thoughts turn to the future of space exploration, especially to the possibility of extended trips in microgravity, one can’t help but wonder how humans might reproduce in space. Scientists have tested rats as well as geckos having sex (and making babies) in space, but what about human reproductive ability? According to a paper published in the journal Communications Biology, researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia found that a major challenge may be successfully transporting sperm to the egg in space.

The authors took sperm samples from humans, rats, and pigs and put them through a special machine that simulates zero gravity conditions, essentially flipping the sperm cells to disorient them, and then pushing them through a maze that simulates the female reproductive tract. The results: There was a significant reduction in the number of sperm able to reach the eggs under those conditions, and this reduction was not due to any change in motility. Exposure to microgravity reduced the number of fertilized mouse eggs by 30 percent, suggesting that microgravity can also affect embryonic development.

The good news is that adding a little progesterone can help confused sperm overcome the negative effects of microgravity. The next step will be to explore how gravity on the Moon, Mars, and artificial gravity systems affects sperm direction and early embryo development.

Communication Biology, 2026. doi:10.1038/s42003-026-09734-4.

Lost Archimedes page found

Thanks to scientific and technological advances, archaeologists and conservationists have many new cutting-edge tools for studying ancient manuscripts, such as revealing old text written on the surface. For example, multispectral imaging showed First known Greek remains The Star Catalog of Hipparchus in 2022 also revealed text hidden beneath Christian texts on medieval parchment, and on four fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, previously thought to be blank. High-energy X-rays have been used to analyze ancient Egyptian papyri and the badly burned Herculaneum Scrolls that survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.