Reuters Science News Summary

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Boeing, GoGo test satellite-linked ​military drone in challenge to Starlink

Boeing's drone subsidiary ​Insitu and aviation Wi-Fi provider Gogo have successfully ‌tested ​a military drone using satellite communications, the companies said on Tuesday, underscoring growing efforts by governments and defense firms to reduce reliance on Elon Musk's Starlink. Gogo Special Missions, ‌the military and government arm of Gogo, and Insitu integrated a modified version of Gogo's Galileo HDX antenna onto Insitu's Integrator drone, a mid-sized uncrewed aircraft used by military customers for surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

'Momnesia' pregnancy forgetfulness linked to brain circuit disruption

It ‌is sometimes called "momnesia," "mommy brain," "pregnancy brain" or "baby brain" — the forgetfulness, mental fogginess and cognitive changes that many women may experience ‌during pregnancy. For instance, a woman might walk into the kitchen and forget why she did, or perhaps misplace her car keys in the bathroom. Scientists know it is a real biological phenomenon, and now have found a possible explanation, identifying a specific brain circuit that becomes disrupted under the ⁠sustained high ​levels of estrogen that ⁠accompany pregnancy.

Tenacious hot springs amoeba sets heat-tolerance record

Lassen Volcanic National Park offers a wondrous landscape of hot springs and other geothermal features in the ⁠Cascade mountains of California, fueled by molten rock deep below the surface. In one of these hot springs, scientists have discovered a microbe ​that surely is one of the toughest found anywhere on Earth. This previously unknown species of amoeba — a ⁠type of single-celled organism known for its ability to change shapes freely — was found to survive and thrive at temperatures that would kill all other ⁠known ​complex life.

Singing lemurs may use a soprano-like trick to project songs

When an opera singer reaches for a high note, a subtle shift in the shape of the mouth and throat can make the sound carry farther. ⁠New research shows that one of Madagascar's most unusual animals — a singing lemur — may be doing something similar high in ⁠the rainforest canopy. In the dense ⁠forests of northeastern Madagascar, where thick vegetation can block visual contact beyond a few metres, lemurs called indris rely on haunting songs to communicate. Scientists have now found that these ‌primates open their ‌mouths wider when producing higher-pitched notes, a pattern consistent with ​a vocal technique called formant tuning.