Week in Science: Plastics in testicles and matter falling into black holes

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May 24—This week, record-breaking auroras, microplastics in testicles, we've finally seen matter fall into a black hole, and much more! --Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor P.S. Want more science news? Sign up for our free daily newsletter, Today in Science.

Top Stories

The Great Solar Storm of 2024 May Have Made the Strongest Auroras in Centuries Northern and southern lights produced by a recent bout of severe space weather may rival the most intense auroras of the past 500 years Sharmila Kuthunur; SPACE.com

America's Hottest City Is Having a Surge of Deaths Skyrocketing temperatures are colliding with a lack of planning in Phoenix that is contributing to a rise in heat-related deaths Ariel Wittenberg; E&E News

Quantum Internet Milestone Takes Entanglement Out of the Lab and into Cities It's a "big deal" to demonstrate entangled quantum networks outside a lab Davide Castelvecchi; Nature magazine

A custom publication sponsored by Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative The Ten Trillion Dollar Disease The economic toll of Alzheimer's disease could surpass the GDP of many nations.

There Is Too Much Trash in Space Debris from spacecraft threatens the burgeoning space economy. We need a global agreement to keep space clean The Editors

Microplastics Have Now Been Found in Testicles. How Bad Is That? Evidence shows microplastics can end up in many different organs and may harm reproductive health Allison Parshall

What Is Pasteurization, and How Does It Keep Milk Safe? The pasteurization process was invented in the 1860s and continues to keep people safe from a range of foodborne illnesses Kerry E. Kaylegian; The Conversation US

Could Putting Neosporin in Your Nose Fend Off COVID? People may someday have a surprisingly familiar tool to prevent viral infections: one of the antibiotics found in a common ointment Meghan Bartels

The Emerging Artificial Intelligence Era Faces a Growing Threat from Directed Energy Weapons Autonomous and AI-enabled systems increasingly rely on optical and radio frequency sensors and significant computer power. They face growing vulnerabilities from directed-energy laser and microwave weapons David C. Stoudt, expert writer

How Does ChatGPT Think? Researchers are striving to reverse-engineer artificial intelligence and scan the "brains" of LLMs to deduce the how any why of that they are doing Matthew Hutson; Nature magazine

Cape Cod Has a Big Septic Tank Problem Cape Cod's water is turning "pea-soup green"—and after decades of scientific detective work, we know why. Rachel Feltman; Barbara Moran; Kathleen Masterson; Madison Goldberg, contract writer; Jeffery DelViscio

We've Finally Seen Matter Plunge into a Black Hole For the first time, scientists observed matter's freefall into a black hole's "plunging region" Allison Parshall

This Year's La Niña Could Worsen Atlantic Hurricane Season Earth is shifting into a La Niña period, changing climate patterns all around the globe Pedro DiNezio; The Conversation US

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