Surprise discoveries that were thousands of years in the making dominated this week’s science news, with scientists discovering that Ötzi the Iceman’s body was teeming with ancient yeasts, which scientists promptly used to make a sourdough.
First discovered in Italy’s Ötztal Alps in September 1991, Ötzi was a prehistoric man who died, likely by murder, some 5,300 years ago before being mummified naturally inside glacier ice. But bad news for Ötzi was good news for four strains of cold-adapted glacier yeasts, which infiltrated his body shortly after his death and may still be active today. In fact, some of these yeasts are just right for baking bread — the scientists used it to make a sourdough they described as “very very good.”
Google plans a multi-million mosquito release
Southern house mosquitoes spread West Nile virus and other diseases.
(Image credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
Life’s Little Mysteries

Scientists have a general idea about how strong gravity is, but they don’t yet have a precise value for this fundamental force.
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RIP to NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft

An artist’s concept of NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft at Mars. NASA lost contact with MAVEN in Dec. 2025, and determined it to be “unrecoverable” on June 3, 2026.
(Image credit: NASA/GSFC)
Also in science news this week
Science long read

The “extinct” Methana volcano, near Athens, was once quiet for nearly 110,000 before awakening and erupting energetically.
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Something for the weekend
Science news in pictures

The Long March 12B is a reusable, commercial rocket that will help China to build its own satellite megaconstellations.
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source: https://www.livescience.com/space/science-news-this-week-otzi-the-iceman-used-to-make-sourdough-italian-teenagers-discover-roman-villa-under-school-google-plans-to-release-64-million-mosquitos-and-rip-to-nasas-maven-probe
