Friday, January 9, 2026

Week in Science: Iceberg earthquakes rattle Doomsday Glacier

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January 9—Happy New Year. This week in science, Wegovy weight-loss pills have arrived and here's how they might be prescribed, and red meat gets a promotion in new dietary guidelines. Plus, we investigate why life keeps evolving in geometric patterns. All that and more below!

Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

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Top Stories
Hundreds of Iceberg Earthquakes Rattle Antarctica's Doomsday Glacier

Capsizing icebergs are violently clashing with the crumbling end of the Doomsday Glacier

Wegovy Weight-Loss Pills Are Now Available in the U.S.—Here's What That Means

The first GLP-1 pills for weight loss are hitting U.S. pharmacies. But how will they be prescribed?

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Small Molecule Therapeutics Can Disarm Cancer Cells

Cancer's ability to resist treatment is formidable, but targeted small molecule therapeutics that slip inside cancer cells could directly block cancer-driving pathways. Learn more.

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Why Does Life Keep Evolving These Geometric Patterns?

A global catalog shows how creatures across the tree of life balance rigidity with flexibility in remarkably consistent ways

RFK, Jr., Upsets Food Pyramid, Urging Americans to Eat More Meat

Nutritional guidelines released on Wednesday by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the USDA emphasize "real food" that is high in saturated fat, departing from decades of evidence on healthful diets

This Year's Flu Season Just Surpassed a Grim New Record

Almost one in 10 people who visited a doctor in the U.S. in the week ending on December 27 were there for flulike symptoms, according to new data

Why Does Venezuela Have So Much Oil? Geology

Trump has cited Venezuela's oil resources as motivation for capturing the nation's leader—here's the geology behind the news

Scientists Just Moved the South Pole. Here's Why

Antarctica's New Year's celebration is unlike any other: every January 1 scientists physically move the South Pole. This is why

Could This Fossil Be the Key Linking Humans, Neandertals and Denisovans?

Fossils of a human ancestor from 773,000 years ago may be near the base of the Homo sapiens lineage, representing a common ancestor of modern humans, Neandertals and Denisovans

U.S. Axes Number of Recommended Childhood Vaccines in Blow to Public Health

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reducing the recommended number of vaccines for children to those that protect against 11 diseases instead of the protections against 17 illnesses that it recommended previously

The First-Ever Private Space Telescope Could Launch before Decade's End

Bigger than Hubble and launching as soon as 2029, the Lazuli Space Observatory would be the first-ever full-scale private space telescope

Want to Make Your Resolution Stick This Year? Behavioral Science Has the Answers

Behavioral economist Katy Milkman explains why most New Year's resolutions fail and shares how science-backed strategies can build habits that last.

Astronomers May Have Unlocked the Reason for Betelgeuse's Bizarre Dimming

Researchers found evidence that a companion star may be influencing Betelgeuse, explaining why the latter star's brightness changes over time

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Today in Science: Your dog might be eavesdropping

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