Medieval gold ring found in castle in Slovakia has rare purple sapphire imported from Sri Lanka

Turns out, the Stone Age might have been more matriarchal than we thought. DNA from 60 skeletons in a 4,500-year-old Chinese cemetery suggests two powerful clans were led by women over 10 generations. This flips the script on assumptions that ancient societies were always male-dominated.

Editor’s Note: This isn’t just a dusty old discovery—it challenges long-held stereotypes about gender roles in prehistory. If women were calling the shots in these clans, it reshapes how we think about power, family structures, and even daily life way back when. Plus, it’s a reminder that history (even the really ancient kind) is full of surprises.

In a promising small trial, a new stem cell-based drug called zimislecel appears to have cured 10 out of 12 participants with severe type 1 diabetes—freeing them from insulin dependence. However, the treatment may not be effective for those with milder forms of the disease.

Editor’s Note: This could be a game-changer for people with the most aggressive cases of type 1 diabetes, offering hope where treatments have been limited. But don’t cancel your insulin prescriptions just yet—it’s still early days, and the therapy might not help everyone. Still, it’s a big leap toward potentially curing what was once considered a lifelong condition.

Edward Anders was the kind of scientist who lived an extraordinary life—both as a daring young man who outsmarted the Nazis during WWII and later as a brilliant chemist who helped decode the origins of the solar system. His work on meteorites reshaped our understanding of space, and his wartime heroics (including forging documents to save lives) added a layer of real-life intrigue to his legacy. At 98, his death marks the end of an era for both science and history.

Big insurance companies are finally responding to criticism by promising to make it easier for patients to get approval for medical treatments and prescriptions. Instead of dragging their feet or outright denying coverage, they’re pledging to speed up decisions—so you could walk out of your doctor’s office knowing whether your procedure or test will be covered.

Editor’s Note: If you’ve ever been stuck waiting days (or weeks) for an insurer to greenlight a treatment, you know how frustrating and risky that delay can be. This shift could mean fewer bureaucratic headaches and faster care—a big deal for patients who’ve long felt like insurers were gatekeeping their health. But the real test? Whether these promises actually translate to real-world changes.

England is rolling out a groundbreaking initiative to sequence the DNA of every newborn baby within the next 10 years. This £650 million government-backed program aims to predict and prevent serious illnesses by analyzing each child’s genetic risk factors, paving the way for personalized healthcare from birth.

Editor’s Note: This isn’t just another medical upgrade—it’s a potential game-changer for public health. Catching disease risks early could save lives and reduce long-term healthcare costs, but it also raises big questions about privacy, data security, and how this genetic info might be used down the line. It’s a bold step into the future of medicine, but one that’ll need careful handling.