Science Snapshots: March 29, 2026

Microgravity can alter sperm’s ability to navigate

Researchers used a device that mimicked the weightlessness of space to check how microgravity affected human, mouse, and pig cells. They found microgravity impaired sperm’s ability to navigate but also that high doses of progesterone could partially reverse this impairment. Up to 24 hours of microgravity also delayed mouse and pig embryo development. As countries plan missions to the moon and Mars, the findings show reproductive processes are vulnerable to gravitational changes.

Egypt find bridges African, Eurasian ape fossil records

Palaeontologists have found a new fossil ape species, Masripithecus moghraensis, in northern Egypt based on 18-million-year-old jaw remains — the first definitive fossil ape found in North Africa. Previously, researchers found most Early Miocene ape fossils in East Africa. The find suggests the ancestors of all living apes may have originated in northeastern Afro-Arabia. Genetic analysis placed Masripithecus closer to modern apes than other fossils from the era, linking African and Eurasian fossil records.

Team uses recirculating water to inject CO₂ into rocks

In the arid Jizan region of Saudi Arabia, scientists have shown a way to ‘trap’ CO₂ without using external water sources. Mineral storage usually consumes lots of water. But in the demo, scientists pumped water from one well and reinjected it into another 130 m away, and over 10 months moved 131 tonnes of CO₂ dissolved in water into basaltic rocks. They also confirmed that 70% of the CO2 was converted to solid carbonate minerals in this time.