Aug 11, 2026 2:47 PM
This week, we look at archaeologists decoding mysterious stone inscriptions, a rare cosmic alignment over Mars, and more stories in the news.
(Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/SSI)This week in stories we're covering at The Debrief: an archaeologist has finally decoded mysterious stone inscriptions on a 2,200-year-old gate that have stumped researchers for centuries. Elsewhere, you've got to see these images of what NASA’s Perseverance rover just spotted behind the Martian moon Phobos. Also, researchers have revealed the first temporal photonic crystal, and it's taking light into places scientists have never gone. And finally, a discovery at a Neolithic site in southeastern Turkey offers new evidence that one of humankind's earliest and most important technologies was being developed far earlier than previously imagined.
And lastly, here's a look at the other recent stories we're tracking right now, which are sure to be enjoyed by the rebelliously curious readers of The Debrief:
- James Webb Space Telescope Data Reveals a Previously Undiscovered ‘Gravitational Arc’ That Was Hidden in Plain Sight A previously undiscovered candidate for a cosmic gravitational phenomenon has been uncovered in a surprise discovery made from JWST observations.
- A Nearly 4,000-Year-Old “Giant’s Tomb” Was Accidentally Discovered in Sardinia Italian authorities working in western Sardinia have accidentally unearthed a new 'Giant's Tomb' that includes rarely seen features.
- “Magic-Angle” Graphene Uses Faint Light to Transform an Insulator Into a Metal, Revealing a New Way to Make the Unseen Visible “Magic-Angle” Graphene turns from an insulator into a metal under faint light, paving the way for ultra-sensitive radiation sensors.
- Did Sugar Help Build the Human Brain? New Research Challenges the Meat-Driven Evolution Theory New research suggests sugars and carbohydrate-rich foods may have helped fuel the dramatic growth of the human brain over 4 million years.
- Scientists Are About to Test a Revolutionary New Device During This Week’s Solar Eclipse—Here’s What It Could Reveal European scientists are taking advantage of this week's solar eclipse to test a potentially groundbreaking instrument that could transform the way astronomers study the Sun.
- Look: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Captures Striking New Images That Bring the ‘Lion Nebula’ Roaring to Life Stunning new imagery of the distant celestial object NGC 2392, better known as the “Lion Nebula,” has been obtained by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.
- A Bizarre Dead Star’s Magnetic Field Has Revealed a Strange Surprise, Potentially Confirming a 90-Year-Old Theory New research reveals a magnetar that appears to display a phenomenon first predicted almost a century ago, but never directly observed.
- These Curious Ancient Greek Artifacts Have Extraterrestrial Origins—Why They Vanished 3000 Years Ago Remains a Mystery New evidence suggests high-status individuals in ancient Greek society wore jewelry with origins that were literally out-of-this-world.
- Mysterious Engravings on Rare 9,000-Year-Old Projectiles May Reveal a Forgotten Symbolic Tradition in Ancient Anatolia A collection of unusual 9,000-year-old engraved projectiles reveal the existence of a mysterious ancient symbolic tradition.
- Forget Lasers—Researchers Just Created Quantum Entanglement Using Sunlight Lasers are no longer required to produce quantum entanglement, physicists say, after achieving the state using sunlight.
- “Pluto Never Stops Surprising Us”: SwRI Scientists Find Evidence of Liquid Nitrogen on Pluto SwRI researchers have revealed evidence of liquid nitrogen on the surface of the dwarf planet Pluto captured by NASA's New Horizons mission.
- “One Origin of the Genetic Code, but Two Origins of Life”: Scientists Reveal the Ancient Evolutionary Split That Gave Rise to All Life on Earth An international research team has uncovered how LUCA, the last ancestor of all life on Earth, split into the first two branches.
- Study Finds Nightmares Connected to PTSD are Reduced or Completely Eliminated by THC from Cannabis In a new study, THC reduced or completely eliminated PTSD-associated nightmares that interrupt sleep and can cause a fear of going to sleep.
- This ‘Ancient’ Spacecraft Keeps Defying Death—But How Much Longer Will Its Extended Mission Last? This week, engineers at NASA’s JPL succeeded in once again extending the lifespan of one of the space agency’s most iconic spacecraft.
- “Surpassing the Evolutionary Boundaries of Biological Photoreception”: Scientists Invent Eyeglasses That Let Wearers See the Infrared in Full Color Scientists have revealed a pair of infrared-to-visible light "upconverter" eyeglasses that let humans see the IR spectrum in full color.
- An Ancient Egyptian Moon God Mystery Deepens with New Analysis Revealing Thoth’s Sacred Baboon Glowed Like Moonlight A spectrometer shows the sacred baboon's silver fur is the color of moonlight. Is this the first physical evidence for why Thoth, god of the moon, wore his strangest and only imported animal face?
- New Research Suggests Extraordinary Experiences Are More Common—and More Meaningful—Than Expected A recent study suggests that "nonordinary" experiences involving unusual phenomena may be more universal than previously thought.
- Antarctica’s Eerie Blood Falls Could Host a Thriving Colony of Million-Year-Old Microbes, Pointing to Evidence of a “Lost” Ocean Antarctica’s eerie Blood Falls may point to a hidden connection between the sea and the coldest desert on Earth.
- Archaeologists Uncover 11,500-Year-Old Evidence That Could Rewrite the Origins of Ceramic Technology in Southwest Asia A discovery by archaeologists at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Çemka Höyük in southeastern Turkey is extending the accepted timelines on the origins of ancient ceramic technology.
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