Science news

11 October 2026

1. 1

   Margaret Hamilton, NASA Apollo software pioneer, dies at 90

   Margaret Hamilton, who led the team that developed onboard flight software for NASA's crewed Apollo missions, has died. Her daughter, Lauren Hamilton, told The Associated Press, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman paid tribute, saying her contributions helped make humanity's first Moon journeys possible. Hamilton joined MIT, initially working on weather prediction software, before moving to its Instrumentation Laboratory in the mid-1960s, which was working with NASA on Apollo. She became a role model for women in science and technology. As a woman in a male-dominated field she faced sexism, but her daughter said she often responded with humour and quiet confidence rather than confrontation. After working at the Instrumentation Laboratory into the 1970s, she established two software companies.

   Key facts

   • Hamilton died on September 30 at a hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, aged 90.
   • By 1968 Hamilton was an assistant director responsible for the command and service module team.
   • Barack Obama awarded Hamilton the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
   • Hamilton graduated in mathematics from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, in 1958.
   • Hamilton was born August 17, 1936, in Indiana and spent much of her childhood in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

   Commentary

   The tribute is the predictable part; the telling detail is how late the public caught on, once a photo of her beside a stack of Apollo code gained attention online. That gap suggests her influence on the field ran ahead of its visibility, and her lasting weight may rest on the women who followed her into software.

   Sources: Bhaskar English

2. 2

   Ancient DNA and proteins identify 'Dragon Man' skull as Denisovan

   The nearly complete Harbin skull from northeastern China, nicknamed 'Dragon Man,' has been identified as a Denisovan, an extinct human lineage closely related to Neanderthals, according to two studies published in Cell and Science. Denisovans were first recognized through genetic evidence in 2010, and their remains had mostly been fragmentary. Others had suspected a Denisovan link, but shape comparisons gave conflicting results. Qiaomei Fu's team first failed to recover usable ancient DNA from bone and tooth samples, then turned to hardened plaque on the single surviving molar. Bence Viola, a University of Toronto paleoanthropologist not involved in either study, said taking the two studies together, it is pretty clear this is a Denisovan individual.

   Key facts

   • Mitochondrial DNA from a 0.3-milligram dental calculus sample matched Denisovan mitochondrial DNA.
   • Protein sequences grouped the skull with Denisovans at 98% or 100% statistical support.
   • Protein analysis recovered 95 ancient proteins and 19,299 peptides from two petrous bone samples.
   • Nearly four-fifths of human DNA extracted from that sample came from modern sources.
   • Uranium-series dating gives the skull a minimum age of approximately 146,000 years.

   Commentary

   The identification is the less surprising part; what stays open is the naming. The species name will depend on which other fossils prove Denisovan, so classification will turn on comparisons beyond this one skull.

   Sources: The Brighter Side of News

3. 3

   NASA selects GIMLI investigation to probe a possible lunar cave beneath the Marius Hills Pit

   The selected investigation will combine ground-penetrating radar, active-source seismic measurements, a gravimeter and cameras to search for a void extending away from the Marius Hills Pit and estimate its size if one exists. Its instruments will ride on a commercially provided lander and rover. A cave there could shield astronauts from radiation, micrometeoroids and extreme surface temperatures, but no cave at this site has been confirmed. A 2017 study of radar echoes from Japan's SELENE mission, also called Kaguya, reported patterns that could indicate an intact tube. NASA describes the work as groundwork for natural shelters supporting a sustained human presence.

   Key facts

   • NASA selected GIMLI to test whether the Marius Hills Pit opens into an underground lava tube.
   • NASA announced the selection on September 30 under its PRISM program.
   • Nathaniel 'Than' Putzig, associate director and senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, leads the investigation.
   • A 2024 Nature Astronomy study found radar evidence of a cave conduit beneath a different lunar pit, Mare Tranquillitatis.
   • A 2022 study found permanently shaded parts of the Mare Tranquillitatis pit near 17 degrees Celsius.

   Commentary

   What moved is the method: a pit viewed from orbit is now to be probed from the surface, which tests whether its shelter appeal survives at this site. A negative result would still sharpen the picture of the layers exposed in the pit walls. Any shelter plan for this site depends on subsurface measurements not yet made.

   Sources: The Brighter Side of News

4. 4

   Nikon strips Dr Ning Xu of Small World in Motion top prize over generative AI use

   Nikon has stripped Dr Ning Xu of Tsinghua University in China of the top prize in its Small World in Motion contest after his entry was found to use generative AI. Multiple scientists, including past judges, complained to organizers, with some alleging structural inaccuracies and others claiming the video still carried AI watermarks such as Google's SynthID. In a now-deleted LinkedIn comment, Xu admitted using AI in post-processing, but said he did not believe he was breaking the rules and that the original images were not AI generated. Nikon said it plans to revisit rules and evaluation procedures for future competition entries. The top prize now goes to Nguyen Nam Nhat of Vietnam.

   Key facts

   • University of Edinburgh cilia biology professor Pleasantine Mill wrote on LinkedIn there “is no grey here”.
   • Xu’s winning video showed cilia moving through the airway of a child with primary ciliary dyskinesia.
   • Nikon’s Small World in Motion, in its 16th year, rewards the best microscopic videography.
   • The new winner’s video shows a tiny roundworm and a single-celled organism.
   • Granta’s publisher admitted in May 2026 “perhaps we never will know” a regional Commonwealth prize winner’s true authorship.

   Commentary

   The disqualification was the predictable part; what matters is that the entrant’s defense rests on separating AI-assisted post-processing from AI-generated images, a line Nikon plans to revisit. Organizers, not just the entrant, now carry the cost of that ambiguity, since future rules must define which post-processing is acceptable.

   Sources: Yahoo

5. 5

   NASA-supported Otter spacecraft to inspect inactive satellites and rocket bodies in low Earth orbit

   NASA is funding and managing SSPICY, a demonstration in which a washing-machine-sized spacecraft will test whether it can navigate largely on its own toward inactive satellites and rocket bodies, examine their spin, orientation and surface condition, and move between orbits. The mission will not repair satellites or remove debris immediately; it will show whether these technologies could support such work later. The effort responds to growing satellite numbers: thousands are launched each year for communications, weather and navigation, and objects no longer in service may collide or break apart, creating debris that concerns spacecraft operating in the same environment.

   Key facts

   • The SSPICY mission, including Starfish Space's Otter spacecraft, launched October 1 from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
   • NASA says Otter will approach up to four inactive US-origin objects in low Earth orbit, including satellites and rocket bodies.
   • Inspections are expected to begin in early 2027.
   • Otter will come within hundreds of yards of each object without making physical contact.
   • NASA says the mission is the first to demonstrate these capabilities as an integrated system.

   Commentary

   The real gamble is less the approach than the chain: propulsion, sensors, the robotic boom and onboard decisions must all hold together during close passes. If they do, a future servicing craft could judge a spinning, unresponsive target without waiting for ground instructions at each step, so the mission's value lies in what each close pass reveals.

   Sources: The Times of India