Week in Science: Dueling OpenAI proofs astound scientists

Plus, three in four NFL players die with CTE, study finds                    

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October 30—Happy almost-Halloween! This week, even more AI-generated math proofs continue to bring shock and awe to the research community. Also, a new landmark study shows three-quarters of thousands of NFL players surveyed died with CTE, a new government UFO release shows a strange triangular craft, and much more. P.S.—Daylight saving ends early Sunday morning! If you happen to be up late on Halloween, set your clocks back an hour at 2:00am—you'll get an extra hour to keep the party going. 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

OpenAI just scooped mathematicians’ work on another million-dollar problem Another bombshell result shows how artificial intelligence is fueling fierce competition at the frontiers of math and physics Joseph Howlett

Dueling proofs from OpenAI and Anthropic astound scientists The results resolve major problems in math, physics and computer science. But like other recent AI-generated “slop drops,” the releases are already controversial Joseph Howlett, Peter Hall

Subscriber Event Inside Social Media Addiction: Join Us Live Why is social media so hard to put down? Join Scientific American associate editor Allison Parshall and neuroscientist Eva Telzer on November 5 for a virtual discussion exploring the science behind social media addiction and how to build healthier relationships with technology.

Mathematicians find an infinite number of Ramanujan equations Knots show how to generate infinitely many formulas of a kind developed by the visionary genius Lyndie Chiou

Landmark study finds three in four NFL players die with CTE The staggering new estimate is based on an analysis of thousands of former players’ medical records Jackie Flynn Mogensen

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Strange triangular craft reported in new U.S. government UFO release The latest batch of declassified files includes eyewitness sightings from earlier this year of a flying black triangle performing inexplicable aerial maneuvers Adam Kovac

RFK, Jr., loosens restrictions for six popular peptides, bypassing the FDA Under the new policy, compounded combinations of these unproven peptides can now be dispensed by certain pharmacies Adam Kovac

How a 16th-century pirate accidentally spawned a centuries-old math problem A question posed by Sir Walter Raleigh about cannonballs inadvertently led to a puzzle that mathematicians have been trying to solve for centuries Manon Bischoff

Warhound wants to engineer and clone military superdogs—can they do it? The start-up is the brainchild of a founder of Anduril, the military tech firm, and Colossal Biosciences, a biotech company known for its de-extinction efforts Mary Randolph

Disgusting or scary? What an aversion to clusters of holes tells us about the brain Research suggests this aversion is driven by an instinct to avoid disease Gabriela Galvin

Astronomers may have just discovered our solar system’s sixth dwarf planet Located farther away from Earth than Pluto, the object was hidden in the light of the Milky Way’s stars Adam Kovac

Trump-appointed CDC deputy director resigns after just four months in the role Jennifer Shuford, a well-respected infectious disease researcher, cited a desire to spend more time with her family Adam Kovac

Underwater data centers may be coming to the U.S.—smack in the middle of endangered whale habitat Ocean water could help dissipate the heat from data centers, but the infrastructure could threaten endangered whales Ryan Green

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Patrick Stewart, ‘Star Trek’s’ Captain Picard, dies at 86

Happy Halloween, this alien world is a cosmic horror | Patrick Stewart, ‘Star Trek’s’ Captain Picard, dies at 86 | Look up! China's space plane visible over US this week Created for ceo.studentlike.spuniv@blogger.com | Web Version   October 30, 2026 FOLLOW US FOLLOW US   Taking you out of this world, every day SIGN UP ⋅   WEBSITE   The Launchpad Happy Halloween, this alien world is a cosmic horror Happy Friday, space fans And Happy Halloweekend! 'Tis the season for scares, and we're starting off with an exoplanet investigation by JWST that revealed a world so hellishly hot there is no chance that any life could survive its scorching temperatures. Speaking of Halloween, new Hubble and JWST images reveal new, ghoulish looks at the haunting Cat's Head Nebula, complete with the cat's glowing red "eye." Sadly, I'm ending on a devastating note as yesterday, we learned of the passing of Patrick Stewart, an iconic actor whose work performing the role of Captain Jean Luc Picard will forever leave an imprint on all of us.  Check out what's going on in space below: Read More Trending Patrick Stewart, ‘Star Trek’s’ Captain Picard, dies at 86 Patrick Stewart, the distinguished British actor of stage and screen, passed away Wednesday (Oct. 28) in Los Angeles at the age of 86. Rest in peace, Captain   Skywatching Look up! China's space plane visible over US this week Early risers across the U.S. could catch a glimpse of China's mysterious Shenlong spacecraft with the naked eye. Look up! Watch Virgin Galactic's new 'Delta-class' space plane  Virgin Galactic's first "Delta-class" space plane, the newly named Apeiron, lifted off for the first time on Thursday (Oct. 29) — beneath the wings of its carrier aircraft. Watch it fly Science & Astronomy Cosmic graveyard of zombie planets a grisly warning  Two zombie exoplanets that rose from the grave to shuffle through the gory remains of their fellow planets may just agree with these immortal words from horror maestro Stephen King. A true horror Today in Space Ghostly Cat's Head Nebula haunts the cosmos  Just in time for Halloween, we have new, ghostly views of the Cat's Eye Nebula haunting the outer reaches of the cosmos. Happy Halloween Entertainment Nothing tops the space horror shenanigans of 'Jason X' The Voorhees legend continues in Crystal Lake, but Jason X remains the Citizen Kane of this franchise. Do you agree? Editor's Note Editors Note And that's it for our space update today.  I hope that you have a space-y, spooky Halloween weekend. Do you have any space-related Halloween costumes planned? Will you look up and try to spot a Halloween fireball? If you have any space-y fun this Halloween, as always, we'd love to hear about it. And, of course, we will be spending a great deal of this weekend rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation and Picard, reminiscing about the many amazing years we got to share this Earth with the incomparable Patrick Stewart.  Looking into the near future, NASA will debut their new air show Max Power, which Space.com will be reporting live from in Florida. And soon after, SpaceX will conduct its next test flight for Starship. This 15th test flight will be a critical next step toward the vehicle's role in NASA's Artemis III mission. And if all goes according to plan, Starship could be a major part of future crewed lunar landings. But we will have to wait and see. To follow closely along and stay up to date with all things space, you can now get Space.com right in the palm of your hand with our new app available now on iOS and Android. Ad astra, per aspera Chelsea Gohd Content Manager, Space.com Stay up-to-date on all things space science, news, and entertainment by subscribing to our newsletters. Sign Up   Follow SPACE Contact Us: Feedback | Advertise Sign Up | Update Profile | Unsubscribe Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms and Conditions When you purchase through links in our content, we may earn an affiliate commission.   Future US LLC © Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036