Week in Science: The new tornado alley has been hyperactive this year

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April 25—This week, scientists discover a new color that's invisible to the naked eye. Plus, why it's been a hyperactive tornado season so far this year; and plants absorb microplastics through their leaves. All that and more below. Enjoy! —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

Top Stories

This Impossible New Color Is So Rare That Only Five People Have Seen It Researchers discover a new color outside the range of human color vision, but you have to laser your retinas to see it Jacek Krywko

The New Tornado Alley Has Been Hyperactive this Year More tornadoes than usual have already struck the U.S. in 2025—and many of them have been touching down farther east than they had in the past Mark Fischetti

NASA's Next Major Space Telescope Is Ready to Launch. Trump Wants to Kill It and Other Vital Science Amid harsh cuts, the Trump administration has proposed canceling the nearly ready-to-launch Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Nadia Drake

Plant Leaves Absorb Microplastics—And They End Up in Our Food New evidence shows plant leaves absorb airborne microplastics, a previously overlooked route for the particles to enter crops that has implications for ecology and human health Willie Peijnenburg, Nature magazine

Trump Administration's Science Cuts Come for NSF Funding The National Science Foundation, which funds key science and engineering research, is the latest U.S. agency to be disrupted by Elon Musk's DOGE Dan Garisto, Nature magazine

Strange Circles in the Sky Are Still Baffling Astronomers ORCs—odd radio circles—are one of the weirdest recent discoveries in the heavens above Phil Plait

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Ozempic Shots Have Taken Off. Why Haven't GLP-1 Pills? Some experts say oral versions of popular weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy could offer people more flexibility and accessibility. What's keeping the pills from taking off? Hannah Seo

Quantum Randomness Could Create a Spoof-Proof Internet Quantinuum's 56-bit trapped-ion computer has succeeded in demonstrating randomness in quantum circuits to establish secure, private connections Gayoung Lee, Lee Billings

Prime Number Mystery Is Key to Magic: The Gathering Card Game Strategy The popular fantasy card game Magic: The Gathering has a new card related to prime numbers. Now fans are trying to use it to tackle one of the biggest problems in mathematics Manon Bischoff

How the THC in Weed Affects Your Brain Most people know weed gets you high—but do you know how THC actually does it? Jeffery DelViscio, Mary Budwick, Michael Tabb

To Reduce Dementia Risk, Treat High Blood Pressure Lowering blood pressure through medication can reduce someone's risk of developing dementia Liz Szabo

Why Narcissists Emerge as Leaders Even in Childhood Many children choose to follow peers with more narcissistic tendencies—and self-esteem may be part of the complex power dynamics involved Eddie Brummelman

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