BuzzRAG Science Desk — 2026-10-18

Ten years ago, on Oct. 17, 2016, an Antares rocket returned to flight after a launch explosion destroyed a cargo vehicle shortly after liftoff in 2014. The anniversary is a reminder that a launch failure is not just a dramatic event: it can interrupt deliveries, damage confidence, and force engineers to reassess both hardware and operations before flying again.

The return-to-flight milestone marked the resumption of cargo missions to the International Space Station, but one successful launch could not by itself establish lasting reliability. That requires performance across repeated flights, transparent investigation of failures, and changes that address identified causes rather than merely restore schedules. The item is a retrospective, not news of a new vehicle test; its value is in tracing how a commercial launch system recovered from a serious setback. Spaceflight remains unforgiving, and the record of how operators respond to failure is as important as the launch itself.

The Orionid meteor shower is forecast to reach its peak overnight from Oct. 21 to 22, offering observers a chance to see debris from Halley’s Comet burn through Earth’s atmosphere. Meteors appear to radiate from the direction of Orion, but they can streak across broad areas of sky, so looking slightly away from the constellation may make it easier to catch longer trails.

A peak date is not a promise of a spectacular display: actual counts vary, and visibility depends on sky darkness, weather, and how much time eyes have had to adjust. The shower is best viewed from a dark location with a wide, unobstructed view; no telescope is needed. Rather than focusing on a single predicted rate, observers can note the time, direction, and brightness of meteors, especially if contributing to a reliable observing network. The annual event also offers a direct, accessible glimpse of how small particles left along a comet’s orbit interact with Earth’s atmosphere.

Two grey seal pups have been recorded at South Walney, the nature reserve described as home to Cumbria’s only breeding colony of the species. The sighting continues a pattern now observed for 12 years, offering a welcome sign that seals are using the site to breed again this season.

A single count, however, cannot tell us whether the colony is growing or whether pups will survive. Interpreting the longer record requires consistent monitoring of births, adult numbers, pup survival, and changes in habitat and disturbance. The distinction matters because repeated breeding is encouraging, but a durable population trend is established through sustained evidence, not one season’s tally. Further counts over the coming weeks and years can show whether this year’s pups are part of a stable pattern and help conservation staff understand what conditions the colony depends on.

Researchers presenting at the 2026 European Association of Nuclear Medicine congress report that a next-generation total-body PET/CT scanner produced diagnostic-quality images with scans as short as one minute. According to the conference summary, those fastest images were rated more highly on average than images from a standard PET/CT scanner—a potentially meaningful result for a test in which patients must remain still while the system captures signals from a radioactive tracer.

Shorter acquisition could make imaging more tolerable for people who struggle to lie still and may reduce motion blur. But the headline does not provide the study’s sample size, patient mix, tracer details, or how image quality was assessed, so it is not enough to conclude that one-minute scans can replace standard protocols broadly. Clinical performance also depends on whether scans answer the relevant diagnostic questions, not only on image ratings. The next step is to examine the full methods and results, including comparisons across patient groups and indications, before judging how widely this approach could be used.