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Fetal surgery conducted within the womb, a wayward AI chat deletes a company’s entire data repository, reasons why the cosmos might face its conclusion far sooner than anticipated, and meteorologists are racing to comprehend this year’s swift El Niño event. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Riess (JHU/STScI), CC BY 4.0 INT | danijelala via Getty Images)Jump to category:
- Anthropic agent purges company’s data store
- Life’s Intriguing Puzzles
- The universe’s imminent end
- Other science headlines this week
- Weekend reading suggestions
- Science news in visuals
- Connect with Live Science on social platforms
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This week’s scientific reporting was rich with astonishing medical advancements, including the narrative of a high-risk procedure that successfully saved a developing infant from a rare respiratory ailment at merely 25 weeks gestation.
Baby Cassian was diagnosed with congenital high airway obstruction syndrome during a second-trimester sonogram, necessitating a groundbreaking surgery to rescue him while still within the womb. Post-operation, the medical team sealed the uterus, where he remained for an additional six weeks. Cassian entered the world in August 2025 and is currently being weaned from respiratory assistance. Practitioners indicate that similar interventions could be performed on other newborns in the future.
Anthropic agent purges company’s data store’I violated every principle I was given’: AI agent deletes company’s entire database in 9 seconds, then confesses
Generative AI agent Cursor, powered by Claude Code, erased PocketOS’s complete database
(Image credit: danijelala via Getty Images)
The ramifications of employing AI agents prone to generating false information were starkly illustrated this week, as reports emerged that the coding assistant Cursor, which utilizes Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.6, obliterated an entire production database and its backups in a mere nine seconds.
The affected entity was PocketOS, a provider of software for rental car firms. Following the rapid eradication, the company identified the coding agent as the perpetrator, and the AI bot purportedly admitted to making assumptions, acting without authorization, and misinterpreting the instruction before executing it.
As AI agents become increasingly integrated into crucial digital infrastructure, this incident represents merely the beginning, according to PocketOS founder Jer Crane.
“We are not the first,” he stated. “We will not be the last unless this issue receives attention.”
Explore further technology news
—A new data center will partially run on human brain cells for the first time
—Google AI advancement means chatbots require significantly less memory during interactions, without sacrificing performance
—How your every action is being tracked within an AI-driven ‘surveillance capitalism system’ that is intensifying aggressively
Life’s Intriguing PuzzlesWhat distinguishes a lion from a tiger?
These apex predators inhabit separate geographical regions, but in what other ways do they vary?
(Image credit: Zocha_K and KvdB50 via Getty Images)
The obvious answer is their stripes and manes, you might suggest — but beyond the superficial, a multitude of fascinating distinctions exist between these two iconic felines. Live Science delved into the specifics.
—If this interests you, subscribe to our Life’s Little Mysteries newsletter
The universe’s imminent endThe cosmos may cease to exist trillions of years earlier than we predicted
Astronomers utilize the shimmering of stars in galaxies like this one (NGC 5468) to verify the universe’s rate of expansion. However, what if cosmic expansion were to decelerate and reverse? Recent research explores the potential consequences for the universe’s duration.
(Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Riess (JHU/STScI), CC BY 4.0 INT)
Previously, scientists posited that our universe would persist for many trillions of years.
However, a novel cosmological model has revived an older hypothesis favoring a more cataclysmic conclusion for our cosmos: a gravitational collapse known as the Big Crunch. This outcome is contingent on the assumption that dark energy (the force driving the universe’s accelerating expansion) diminishes over time.
Nevertheless, should a Big Crunch materialize, it would not occur for another 33 billion years — so there is no immediate cause for alarm.
Discover more about space exploration
—A NASA rover has identified rock containing 7 novel organic molecules on Mars, representing the ‘most diverse collection’ ever documented
—Can NASA and SpaceX realistically establish a lunar base within the next decade?
—An expendable SpaceX rocket is predicted to collide with the moon’s Einstein crater this summer, according to reports
Other science headlines this week
—Certain fungi possess the ability to influence meteorological patterns — and the mechanism has now been elucidated
—The brain size of Neanderthals was not the reason for their extinction, a new investigation suggests
—’Lifelong monogamy’ and ‘half orphans’: Genetic analysis reveals insights into life on the Roman frontier following Rome’s collapse
—’The detectors were constantly sounding!’ Approximately 3,000 coins unearthed in a field constitute Norway’s largest recorded Viking treasure hoard
—Mount Etna exhibits characteristics unlike any other volcano on Earth, representing ‘a new category of volcanism,’ according to recent findings
—’If astrological compatibility has any basis, its effects should be detectable’: A study of 20 million individuals indicates that star signs have no correlation with romantic compatibility
—Urban birds seem to show a preference for men over women, though the reasons remain a mystery to experts
Weekend reading suggestions
For those seeking activities to fill their weekend, here are some of the most compelling interviews, opinion pieces, and quizzes released this week.
—’One of the most rapid transitions I’ve observed’: A NOAA forecaster discusses how this year’s El Niño might establish new records [Interview]
—’I am more optimistic about the endurance of birds than perhaps our own species’: Paleontologist Steve Brusatte explains why birds are the ultimate survivors [Interview]
—’It has dual effects’: Positive tipping points can revitalize degraded ecosystems — we simply need to initiate them, according to Earth system scientist Tim Lenton [Interview]
—Drilling has commenced at our revered site Pe’ Sla, establishing a perilous precedent for Indigenous lands nationwide. This must cease. [Opinion]
—Weapons of the world quiz: Can you identify these historical instruments of conflict? [Quiz]
Science news in visualsHubble revisits the spectacular Trifid Nebula after three decades, and detects an expanding energy jet — Space photo of the week
A vibrant green fireball illuminated the skies above Lindisfarne Castle in the United Kingdom.
(Image credit: NASA, ESA, STScI. Image processing: J. DePasquale (STScI))
This captivating image showcases the stellar nursery known as Messier 20, colloquially referred to as the “Cosmic Sea Lemon.”
The recently unveiled image, released on April 20, was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, which had previously photographed the same celestial region approximately 30 years prior. Little has changed in that interval; it is but a fleeting moment in cosmic terms. However, a burgeoning jet of energy is being emitted by a nascent star, causing the nebula to resemble a unicorn.
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