Got a super cute pup or kitty? I chat with the creator behind The Oreo Cat on how to make your pet a social media superstar — and even make a little cash doing it. Plus, scientists clone direwolves (kind of), and AI is outpacing doctors on MRIs.
🧬 Hidden sperm, found: Meanwhile, scientists used AI meant for spotting hidden stars to find rogue sperm in infertile men. One woman got pregnant after 19 years of “nothing.” It’s called STAR, and it found three viable swimmers out of millions of images. They didn’t see this coming.
Every 44 minutes
Something in deep space is flashing, and scientists have no idea what it is. It’s 14,700 light-years away and sends out bursts of both radio waves and X-rays. For the record, that isn’t supposed to be possible. Theories? Maybe an ancient magnetar or a white dwarf binary system. Or hear me out: Aliens.
👂🏻 Gene therapy restores hearing: I love this. Scientists helped people with lifelong deafness hear for the first time using an experimental treatment. They injected the OTOF gene (needed to send sound signals to the brain) into patients born with a mutation. The outcome? After six months, everyone tested gained some level of hearing. Amazing.
Playing God: Now, this is nuts. British scientists just kicked off a mega-funded plan to build human DNA from scratch. The goal? A fully synthetic chromosome (just 2% of the genome) for now. Cue the ethical dilemma of gene creation and editing. Some say it’s lifesaving science, others say it’s biotech’s Jurassic Park moment.
🧬 CRISPR takes on chromosomes: You’re gonna want to pass this one on. I sent this news to a few friends. Japanese scientists say they’ve successfully used CRISPR to remove the extra chromosome that causes Down syndrome in lab-grown cells. It’s a major leap. Imagine if this was even possible!
Your receipt is poison: Some receipts are still printed with BPS, a BPA cousin that’s banned in the U.K. but alive and well in the U.S. Scientists say it’s probably fine, but maybe don’t rub your face with it like it’s a love letter. Cancer links are unproven, yet, but just leave it or throw it out.
Self-healing concrete: Scientists made concrete that can literally fix itself, and it’s technically alive. They’re using synthetic lichen that feeds on sunlight and air. It then produces calcium carbonate, the same ultra-strong material found in Roman concrete. When cracks appear, they fill in naturally.
👁️ Laser eyes, activated: Chinese scientists made a laser that reads text ⅛ of an inch from 0.85 miles away. Originally for studying stars, it now works on your grocery list from the next neighborhood over. Add shape-recognition AI, and yes, it’s totally spying tech. Meanwhile, you’re looking for your glasses when they’re on your head.
👀 Maybe a blindness cure: This is amazing! Scientists just figured out how to reverse retinal damage by blocking a protein that stops our eyes from healing themselves. The tech is still in early trials, but human tests could start by 2028, giving new hope to millions with glaucoma, macular degeneration and other vision loss. Btw, it’s been almost two years since my corneal transplant. It didn’t heal exactly the way I hoped because initially I had 20/20 vision. But hey, I’ll take it: 20/100 vision is a whole lot better than 20/400!
36
The exact age scientists say bad habits really start wrecking your health. A study tracked hundreds of kids born in 1959 to 61 years old. Those who smoked, boozed and skipped workouts ended up sicker and more depressed. Great news if you’re 35, you’ve got 12 months left to be an absolute disaster on purpose.
3,000 years old
The age of a mummified crocodile scientists recently cracked open. They used X-ray and CT scans to peek inside and found gastroliths, aka small stones crocs swallow to help with digestion. Even weirder? They also discovered a fish and a bronze hook, still intact, meaning the croc was probably caught right before it was sacrificed.
32 minutes
How long it takes to cook the perfect egg. If you hard-boil it, the yolk goes chalky. Soft-boil it, and the whites stay wobbly. Why? Yolks cook best at 149°F, whites at 185°F. Scientists found a fix: Switch the egg between boiling water (212°F) and tepid water (86°F) every two minutes for 32 minutes. This isn’t a breakfast, it’s a culinary hostage situation.
4 mph
The walking speed you should aim for during exercise. Scientists say it can help lower your risk of heart rhythm problems that lead to heart attacks and strokes down the line. And no, it’s not that fast. The average person walks around 3.5 mph. We’re talking a brisk little stride, not a power walk to catch a flight.
🪐 A fishy planet: Scientists just got a whiff of something suspicious on K2-18b, a distant “hycean” world 120 light-years away. While scanning its atmosphere, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope picked up dimethyl sulfide, a gas that, here on Earth, only comes from living things like plankton. Looks like SpongeBob’s nemesis finally made it to the big time.
Kim Komando Show Preview: How to make your pet go viral
Got a super cute pup or kitty? I chat with the creator behind The Oreo Cat on how to make your pet a social media superstar — and even make a little cash doing it. Plus, scientists clone direwolves (kind of), and AI is outpacing doctors on MRIs.
28 seconds
How much longer a day on Uranus just got. Scientists studied a decade of data from the Hubble Space Telescope to more accurately measure the planet’s rotation. Turns out it now takes 17 hours, 14 minutes and 52 seconds for one full spin. Hey, why don’t scientists trust Uranus? Because it’s always up to something cheeky. Come on, that was funny.
7:1
Yeah, so that myth is totally wrong. A new dog-age calculator says your pup’s “human years” age isn’t as easy as multiplying by 7. A 2-year-old dog is basically a full-grown adult, depending on the breed, according to scientists. So yes, your “puppy” might be old enough to refinance their student loans.
❤️ Heartfelt science: Scientists have unveiled a pacemaker smaller than a grain of rice that can be injected and powered by light. Tailored for newborns with heart issues, this tiny tech marvel dissolves when its mission is complete. Talk about a disappearing act.