Research roundup: 6 cool science stories we almost missed

Also: Cyborg diving suits for cockroaches, why sleepy sperm whales blow bubbles, Betelgeuse’s companion star.

It’s a regrettable reality that there is never enough time to cover all the interesting scientific stories we come across. So every month, we highlight a handful of the best stories that nearly slipped through the cracks. July’s list includes outfitting cyborg cockroaches with a tiny diving suit for navigating flooded terrain; confirmation that a Medici duke died of malaria, not poisoning; the best evidence to date that Betelgeuse is orbited by a companion star; and evidence that some ancient Egyptian princesses were skilled archers.

Sacrificial Incan boy died of blunt force trauma

It’s known that the Incas practiced a human sacrifice ritual known as Capachoca, in which children were offered to the mountains and believed to become divine themselves, serving as intermediaries with the gods. This often involved pilgrimages to the remote sacrificial sites, with colonial accounts describing strangulation, asphyxiation, and blunt force trauma as the most common methods of sacrifice. Archaeologists have reanalyzed the remains of one such victim and concluded the boy died from blunt force trauma, rather than freezing to death as previously believed. They described their findings in a paper published in the journal Science Advances.

The Boy of Cerro El Plomo, as he is known, showed no evidence of freezing prior to death, or any cold-related injuries to his extremities. But there was a left frontal skin lesion and associated fracture likely suffered just before death, since there was no evidence of healing. The injury is consistent with blunt force trauma rather than an accidental fall, with a star-shaped mace being the most likely weapon. The plantar surfaces of the boy’s feet showed evidence of prolonged walking over a long distance, consistent with making a pilgrimage to a sacrificial site. CT scans showed a full stomach, suggesting the boy had feasted before the sacrificial ceremony, as well as a dilated esophagus consistent with vomiting. The latter could have been triggered by the head injury.

The team also analyzed the remains of two young girls found at another site, Cerro Esmeralda, previously believed to have died by strangulation. While they weren’t able to identify an exact cause of death because of the condition of the remains, the authors concluded that the marks on the two girls’ necks were not consistent with strangulation and were more likely caused by textiles, i.e., clothing. CT scans showed that the hyoid bones were still intact with no evidence of fractures and in their correct anatomical position.

Science Advances, 2026. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adz9055 (About DOIs).

Ancient Egyptian princesses were skilled archers

Late 19th century archaeologists excavated the Dahshur pyramid complex within the Memphis Necropolis in Egypt and found several intact burial chambers containing the remains of King Hor and Princess Noub-Hotep, among others. This was soon followed by the excavation of two more burials of Princess Ita and Princess Khenmet, and then Princess Itaweret and Princess Sathathormeryt. A paper published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology describes the latest multifaceted re-assessment of those remains, concluding that the princesses were likely skilled at using the weapons buried with them.

The authors combined osteological analysis with X-ray imaging and relied on FTIR spectroscopy to analyze the embalming materials. While the princesses’ skulls had been lost, and some of the bones had not been preserved, the rest of the bones were in good condition. Princess Ita, they determined, died between the ages of 24 and 28 and had strong upper-body muscle attachments, suggesting habitual use of maces or daggers. Princess Khenmet was in her late 30s or 40s and also had strong ligament attachments. Princess Itaweret was between 20 and 34, with healed broken ribs and foot fractures, and her bones showed evidence consistent with being skilled at archery.

“We found pronounced development in the upper limbs of these individuals, which correlates to repetitive, high-intensity actions like pulling a bowstring or stabilizing a weapon, proving these activities were habitual throughout their lives,” said co-author Zeinab Hashesh of the University of Beni-Suef in Egypt. “This directly explains the presence of bows, arrows, and maces in the women’s tombs; these were not just symbolic gifts but tools they actively used.”

Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, 2026. DOI: 10.3389/fearc.2026.1844402 .

Cyborg cockroaches

In 2013, Backyard Brains developed the crowdfunded RoboRoach, a DIY kit that enabled users to transform cockroaches from pests into remote-controlled cyborgs, just by performing a bit of (rather gruesome) surgery. The kits are still around and even being used in upper-level college biology courses. And in 2022, Japanese researchers turned a Madagascar hissing cockroach into a cyborg for search-and-rescue missions using a similar, though more sophisticated, approach. Now scientists at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have built an amphibious version by outfitting the cockroaches with a tiny diving suit, according to a paper published in Nature Communications.

Cyborg insects use the creature’s own muscles to move, so such hybrids consume less power than small artificial robots used for similar purposes. The downside is that many disaster zones may have puddles and partially submerged spaces, where a living cyborg like a cockroach would not be able to breathe. Cockroaches breathe through small openings in the trachea called spherules. So the NTU team created the equivalent of an oxygen tank housed in a soft waterproof shell to generate oxygen and deliver it directly to the spherules via four tiny plastic tubes.

The 3D-printed tank contains a sponge soaked with a catalyst, in this case manganese dioxide. Just prior to deploying the cyborg roach, the team injected a bit of diluted hydrogen peroxide into the tank and sealed it to prevent leakage. The catalyst slowly broke down the hydrogen peroxide to produce oxygen. The cyborg roach worked quite well in test runs, although it was never completely submerged, just operating in a few inches of water. Future versions will integrate sensors and navigation systems, and extend the diving suit to locusts and beetles.

Nature Communications, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-74235-1 .

Betelgeuse has a companion star

In 2019, astronomers noticed a strange dimming in the light from Betelgeuse, a bright red star in the Orion constellation. They wondered whether it was a sign that the star was about to go supernova. Or perhaps the dimming was due to a short-lived cold patch on the star’s southern surface (akin to a sunspot), or a clump of dust making the star seem dimmer to observers on Earth. A 2021 study concluded that dust was the primary culprit, linked to the brief emergence of a cold spot.

Betelgeuse has surprised astronomers yet again. Observational data from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has provided the first firm evidence that Betelgeuse has a faint orbiting companion star, dubbed Betelgeuse B, according to a paper published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. Astronomers have been looking for a companion star since its existence was first predicted nearly a century ago. A 2024 paper noted that the star would likely be easiest to observe in December of that year when Betelgeuse was farthest away from its companion.

The authors of this latest paper were able to directly image Betelgeuse B with the VLT’s SPHERE instrument, giving scientists the clearest view of the companion star yet. One reason they were able to spot it is that the companion star is much more massive than previously thought—about two to three times the mass of our Sun. There is one more step for full confirmation: Astronomers will attempt to make a direct observation one year from now on the other side of the star. But little doubt remains that Betelgeuse B exists, and now the big question is what impact the companion star will have on Betelgeuse’s future transition to supernova.

Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2026. DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202661023 (About DOIs).

Medici duke died of malaria, not arsenic

In 1587, Grand Duke Francesco de Medici and his wife, Bianca Cappello, died during a visit to the family villa in Poggio after a brief severe illness. While their symptoms were consistent with malaria—and Poggia was a swampy, mosquito-filled environment—rumors nonetheless swirled that the duke had been poisoned with arsenic. Those rumors have stubbornly persisted, but a new analysis of Francesco’s remains—and those of his brother, Cardinal Giovanni de Medici, who died of malaria in 1562 at age 19—found genetic evidence that Francesco had indeed contracted malaria as his cause of death, according to a paper published in the journal iScience.

Yale University researchers collaborated with a paleopathologist from Italy’s University of Pisa to perform the analysis on four rib bones from the brothers, part of an ongoing project to track the spread and evolution of the disease from Renaissance central Italy to the 20th century. They identified a strain of Plasmodium falciparum, the cause of the deadliest forms of malaria in humans, in Giovanni’s bones, and a second species, P. malariae, in Francesco’s. This is consistent with contemporary archival records noting symptoms consistent with malaria, as well as the Pisan team’s earlier immunological analysis of the remains.

iScience, 2026. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.116371 .

Sperm whales blow bubbles as they sleep

Sperm whales are the only species of whale that rests in the vertical position, taking 10–15 minute naps with their heads facing up toward the surface. Scientists surmise that they do this to buffer themselves from surface waves. But they’ve also puzzled over how the sperm whales manage to maintain their underwater position, given that their heads are filled with oil, wax, and air, and thus the whales are naturally buoyant. According to a paper published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, sperm whales blow bubbles as they nap to regulate their buoyancy and stay below the water’s surface.

The authors collected data from 42 sleeping sperm whales off the coast of northern Norway by attaching small tags via suction cups to their bodies. The tags recorded the bubble sounds and 3D animal movements, and the movement data was used to create a simulation based on such factors as tissue density, drag, and how much gas was in the body.

Sperm whales take their naps by first diving down a bit before the buoyant head turns toward the surface; by sinking tail-first to a depth of roughly 8 meters; or by slowly ascending to the surface after a deep dive (over 200 meters). The data showed that sperm whales napping near the surface blew bubbles 11 times on average during their naps, compared to three or four times by those whales making a slow ascent. A new question is whether the whales are consciously choosing to blow bubbles to regulate their buoyancy, which would mean they slumber more like dolphins, with one half of the brain conscious while the other sleeps.

Journal of Experimental Biology, 2026. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.251920.