This Week in Science: A galactic flip, ‘programmable heat’, and much more!
First up: Measles cases in the US have just passed a ‘grim milestone’: 2026 has already beaten 2025’s total, reaching the highest numbers in 35 years.
Also this week:
Read on below, and make sure you also check out our TWIS video!
US Measles Cases Just Hit a ‘Grim Milestone’. Here’s What You Need to Know.
Measles cases in the United States have just passed a “grim milestone”, reaching numbers that haven’t been seen in 35 years.
In 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a total of 2,289 measles cases.
On Tuesday, 21 July 2026, that number was officially breached, reaching 2,295.
The last time US measles cases exceeded this 2026 number was in 1991, when 9,643 cases were reported, following 27,808 cases in 1990.
Read the full story here.
Our Entire Galaxy May Have Once Flipped on Its Side
It’s easy to think of our home galaxy as a relatively stable place, a neatly ordered disk sailing serenely through space like a frisbee – but it may be a lot more turbulent than it looks.
According to new simulation research, the entire disk of the Milky Way may have gradually tipped onto its side over billions of years, reorienting itself within its vast halo of dark matter after ancient collisions with smaller galaxies.
This theory adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that the Milky Way has undergone a lot of upheaval in its 13.6-billion-year lifespan – and it could help explain some of the galaxy’s more puzzling peccadilloes.
Read the full story here.
Ultimate Limit of The Human Lifespan May Be Identified, Study Suggests
When the iconic rock band Queen asked, “Who wants to live forever?” the question was rhetorical, but for many people, the answer was “Yes”.
Well, a new study suggests immortal life may be scientifically impossible, even if we somehow found the perfect anti-aging medicine.
If scientists managed to overcome every other aspect of aging, humans still couldn’t live forever, the new research shows. Random DNA mutations would continue accumulating in our cells until the body could no longer function.
Simulations conducted by a team at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Russia suggest this process could impose a fundamental limit on human lifespan, with most people living no longer than about 150 to 190 years under this optimistic scenario.
That’s roughly double humans’ current longevity, of about 79 years in fortunate circumstances, but it’s still a hard limit on the human lifespan.
Read the full story here.
A Wild Parasite Makes Ants Live 10x Longer And Tricks Others Into Worshipping Them
Imagine a parasite that makes you live up to 10 times longer than you naturally would – while also inspiring others to treat you like royalty.
It sure seems like a pretty good deal, but of course there’s a catch.
The parasite just wants to keep you lazy so you’ll be easy pickings for a giant predator – the bowels of which are the parasite’s preferred breeding ground.
It might sound like an intriguing setup for an indie horror movie, but that’s the reality for Temnothorax nylanderi ants. Now, thanks to a new study in the journal BMC Genomics, we know more about the biology of this bizarre scenario.
Read the full story here.
It’s Not Just You: Scientists Say Modern Life Is Pushing The Human Mind Beyond Its Limits
In a new paper published in Behavioral Sciences, social scientists from institutions in Singapore have examined previous studies and theories to put together an argument: Our rapid progress as a species has left our individual bodies and minds unable to keep up.
The crux of the proposal is this: Humans evolved to fit small groups of familiar people and to respond to immediate, recognizable threats.
What we live with now are vast communities, constant connection, and a multitude of overlapping pressures that create a heightened sense of competition.
This “evolutionary mismatch” is then leading to significant problems in physical and mental health, the new study suggests, everything from obesity to anxiety.
Read the full story here.
Scientists Broke a 160-Year-Old Law of Physics to Create Programmable Heat
There are certain laws of physics that heat must follow.
Take Kirchhoff’s law of thermal radiation, for example, which applies the idea of reciprocity to heat, and dictates that a surface’s ability to absorb heat at a specific angle and wavelength must also match its ability to emit heat at the same angle and wavelength.
It’s a rule that makes thermal energy difficult to control in ways we might like to, and although workarounds have been found before, they’re inefficient and volatile.
In a new study published in Laser & Photonics Reviews and carried out by an international team of researchers, we may have a way to separate absorption and emission to achieve programmable heat.
Read the full story here.
Watch the video below for a recap of the top stories from this week!
