Week in Science: GLP-1 pills improve sleep apnea

Plus, new lunar rover to launch in 2028                    

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November 13—Happy Friday the 13th! Here are the biggest science stories from this week, from how GLP-1s can improve sleep apnea to the math of finding a needle in a haystack. Plus, the scoop on a new lunar rover, an unexpected way to predict the spread of Lyme disease, and how “pink noise” cleans the brain during sleep. Think you know all the science news from this week? Take our Friday quiz to find out. —Emma Gometz, Newsletter Editor Have thoughts or feedback on our coverage? Email newsletters@sciam.com anytime.

Top Stories

New clinical trial shows daily GLP-1 pill significantly improves sleep apnea Foundayo, a daily pill, successfully reduced obstructive sleep apnea, according to clinical trial data Mary Randolph

NASA reveals new lunar rover, PROMISE, to launch to moon in 2028 At a press event on Saturday, the agency’s officials stressed that rovers and other infrastructure will be critical to ensuring human survival on the moon Claire Cameron

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Scientists confirm OpenAI’s blockbuster quantum physics result The company’s appointed team of experts has verified and released the groundbreaking AI-generated proof, which validates bedrock assumptions of the Standard Model of particle physics Joseph Howlett

Acorns—not deer—can predict a rise in Lyme-spreading ticks Despite deer’s essential role in tick reproduction, looking to acorn numbers instead can forecast Lyme disease booms almost two years in advance Clarissa Brincat

Bursts of ‘pink noise’ during sleep could help your brain clean itself Triggering a flow of the brain’s cleaning fluid could lead to better sleep—and may decrease harmful waste particles Alex Music

Scientists finally solve the mystery of Earth’s ‘Great Unconformity’ The “Great Unconformity” has puzzled scientists since its discovery in the 1870s Santosh Dhungana, Nicholas Flament, The Conversation US

Was Isaac Newton’s contribution to calculus stolen? Newton accused Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, another mathematical giant of the time, of stealing the concept of infinitesimals. Here’s the real story Manon Bischoff

Nothing can be fully transparent, physicists discover Quantum researchers show how materials inevitably absorb light Matthew von Hippel

El Niño will push temperatures above 1.5 degrees C. Will we ever come back down? The astonishing strength of this El Niño could mean we surpass an important climate threshold—possibly for good Andrea Thompson

Why did a Brooklyn building collapse so suddenly? Experts weigh in The devastating incident on Wednesday has left at least eight people dead and more than a dozen injured Adam Kovac

This is how hard it is to find a needle in a haystack We asked a statistics expert how difficult it would be to find a needle in a haystack—the answer is: just as hard as you think Adam Kovac

Virtual fruit fly brains can play Doom and trade bitcoin Researchers created a new map of the fruit fly brain. Then the Internet found it Mary Randolph

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