Science Snapshots: September 6, 2026

Recent NASA Hubble Space Telescope images show the gas giant Saturn and its southern pole, where astronomers have discovered a 10-sided atmospheric wave. Observations show the decagon extends through multiple layers of Saturn’s atmosphere. | Photo Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI Ten-sided wave undulates around Saturn’s south poleSaturn’s north pole is famous for its long-lasting hexagonal wave; now, scientists have for the first time found a decagonal wave around its south pole. Using images from space and ground telescopes in 2023-2025, they found the wave slowly moving eastward. The decagon’s vertices move back and forth every 32 days. Researchers believe the wave is a vertical structure extending into the atmosphere, and perhaps formed due to unstable winds or due to an anticyclone nearby.New way to spot Zika, hep C viruses in whole bloodResearchers have developed a way to detect Zika and hepatitis C viruses in whole blood. Blood has enzymes that quickly destroy RNA, so testing it for RNA requires pricey equipment to purify samples first. In the study, the team used a new blood drying protocol it developed to ‘trap’ and shield RNA, using only a heater and a low-cost sensor, and then find the viruses in two hours, with accuracy comparable to that of top labs.Scans reveal how the brain allows humans to speak silentlyInner speech involves the words we ‘speak’ silently in our minds. Using magnetoencephalography, scientists have found the brain’s motor regions first encode how the mouth should move for a sound; right after, the auditory regions activate to represent the predicted sound of the syllables. Remarkably, the brain was found organising these vowels based on their acoustic properties even though no sound is made, suggesting inner speech is a motor simulation rather than just abstract thought. Published - September 07, 2026 12:56 pm IST