{"id":556005,"date":"2026-07-18T12:06:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T12:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/556005\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T12:06:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T12:06:16","slug":"this-week-in-science-tiny-t-rexes-a-new-monkey-species-and-more-sciencealert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/556005\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in Science: Tiny T. Rexes, a New Monkey Species, And More! : ScienceAlert"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week in science: Surprisingly tiny T. rex hatchlings, an elusive new monkey species, and much more!<\/p>\n

First up:<\/a> Quantum supercomputers have been put to work on the complex task of finding the optimal fuel for nuclear fusion<\/a> reactors. The simulations identified nine promising formulations that could soon be tested. <\/p>\n

Also this week:<\/p>\n

Read on, and make sure you check out our TWIS video below<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Quantum Computers Identify Nuclear Fusion Fuel in Major First\"QuantumIllustration of a tokamak nuclear fusion reactor chamber.\u00a0(Ruslanas Baranauskas\/Science Photo Library\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

A major barrier to harnessing energy via\u00a0nuclear fusion\u00a0is the fuel source.<\/p>\n

Most proposed fusion reactors (the donut-shaped tokamak reactors) are powered by the fusion of tritium and deuterium.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately,\u00a0tritium\u00a0is next to non-existent on Earth.<\/p>\n

However, if scientists can find an efficient way to ‘breed’ tritium, it could become a more viable source of power.<\/p>\n

Now, for the first time, quantum-centric supercomputers have just been used to identify nine configurations of the material used to breed tritium \u2013 the latest evidence that these high-tech simulations could help physicists knock down one of the greatest barriers to fusion.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

‘Vanishingly Rare’ Discovery: T. Rex Hatchlings Were Smaller Than a Cat And Born by The Dozen\"'VanishinglyA photo of the baby\u00a0T. rex\u00a0puppet used in\u00a0The Lost World: Jurassic Park.\u00a0(Michael Irving\/ScienceAlert)<\/p>\n

Jurassic Park\u00a0was wrong. Again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the second movie, hunters find an infant\u00a0Tyrannosaurus rex\u00a0and use it to lure the adults into a trap.<\/p>\n

But in reality, that baby would have been much smaller, about the size of a cat. And it probably wouldn’t have been alone \u2013 the nest may have been absolutely crawling with dozens of them.<\/p>\n

It likely wouldn’t have been very useful as bait either: Its parents probably would have considered losing a baby or two as just part of the process, and wouldn’t have cared enough to push a research trailer off a cliff.<\/p>\n

So why are we updating our understanding of\u00a0T. rex’s childhood?<\/p>\n

In a “vanishingly rare” discovery, paleontologists have found and closely examined fossils of tyrannosaur hatchlings \u2013 and the implications go way beyond everyone’s favorite\u00a0 dinosaur<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An Entirely New Monkey Species Has Been Hiding in The Congo Rainforest\"AnMeet Likweli: A remarkable new species of Colobus monkey.\u00a0(Daniel Rosengren)<\/a><\/p>\n

Primatologists have just confirmed the existence of a monkey species that had, until now, evaded the scientific record.<\/p>\n

Meet\u00a0Colobus congoensis, a monkey that has long been hiding in the rainforest between the Lomami and Congo (Lualaba) rivers in the east-central region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).<\/p>\n

\"Subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n

Even people who live within the monkey’s range had rarely sighted it.<\/p>\n

When they did, Bangala people called it ‘Likweli’; Mituku locals called it ‘kasaba nkoni’, the branch-shaker.<\/p>\n

It must be said: these monkeys have excellent faces, with curious dark eyes, cheekbones that would make Cher jealous, and a modelesque pinkish-orange pout that could inspire a whole new lipstick trend.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Plant Compound Protects Mice From Knee Cartilage Damage in Space\"Illustration(Science Photo Library\/Canva)<\/p>\n

Spaceflight is rough on the mammalian body.<\/p>\n

Mice flown on the International Space Station experience\u00a0degradation\u00a0of the cartilage that cushions the bone in load-bearing\u00a0knee joints. Joint cartilage has a limited ability to repair itself.<\/p>\n

Scientists now think they may have found a possible countermeasure.<\/p>\n

Mice treated with a plant compound called kaempferol before and during simulated spaceflight conditions experienced less severe cartilage degradation than untreated mice.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

World’s Oldest Amber Comes From a World 150 Million Years Before Dinosaurs\"World'sOne of the fragments embedded in the surrounding coal.\u00a0(Luo et al.,\u00a0Sci. Adv., 2026)<\/p>\n

We tend to think of tree resin as an ancient, fragrant\u00a0defense\u00a0against\u00a0munching insects\u00a0\u2013 one that fends off pests and scabs over the wounds left by their voracious mandibles.<\/p>\n

But a new discovery suggests that these viscous secretions emerged in a very different world from the one our minds conjure when we think of amber \u2013 one without\u00a0 dinosaurs<\/a>\u00a0and even before insects had become major plant grazers.<\/p>\n

In a bed of coal in China’s far northwest, paleontologists have found hundreds of microscopic fragments of amber that date back to the\u00a0Middle Devonian, 385 million years ago \u2013 some 65 million years earlier than the previous record holder, and 150 million years before\u00a0the first dinosaurs.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Astronauts Have Taken The First Human X\u2011Rays in Space\"AstronautsHand X-rays taken, from left to right, pre-flight, in orbit, and post-flight, from three different individuals using the same imaging protocol.\u00a0(Gifford et al.,\u00a0Radiology, 2026)<\/p>\n

For more than 65 years, humans have been soaring through space.<\/p>\n

Since the first spaceflight by cosmonaut\u00a0Yuri Gagarin\u00a0in April 1961, the human presence in space has become a constant, with a revolving team of international spacefarers residing aboard the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

In the coming decades, our presence in space is likely to expand \u2013 and with it, the need for vital medical tools to keep our cosmic explorers healthy.<\/p>\n

Now, for the first time, astronauts in orbit have taken diagnostic-quality X-rays of their own bodies \u2013 the culmination of years of work. The results are now published in the journal\u00a0Radiology.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Watch the video below for a recap of the top stories from this week!<\/p>\n

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