Research roundup: 7 cool science stories we almost missed
It’s a regrettable reality that there is never enough time to cover all the interesting scientific stories we come across each month. In the past, we’ve featured year-end roundups of [cool science stories][1] we (almost) missed. This year, we’ve experimented with a monthly collection. December’s list includes a fossilized bird that choked to death on rocks; a double-detonating "superkilonova"; recovering an ancient seafarer's fingerprint; the biomechanics of kangaroo movement; and cracking a dark matter puzzle that stumped fictional physicists on *The Big Bang Theory*, among other tantalizing tidbits
## Secrets of kangaroo posture
[An illustration of the 3D musculoskeletal model of a kangaroo, developed by Lauren Thornton and colleagues.] Credit: [Thornton et al., 2025/CC BY 4.0][2]
Kangaroos and wallabies belong to a class of animals called macropods, with unique form and style of movement. Their four limbs and tail all contact the ground at slow speeds, while they use a hopping gait at higher speeds. Typically, high-speed movements are more energy-intensive than slow-speed motion, but the opposite is true for macropods like kangaroos; somehow the hopping speed and energy cost become uncoupled. According to [a paper][3] published in the journal eLife, this may be due to changes in a kangaroo's posture at higher hopping speeds.
[Read full article][4]
[Comments][5]
[1]: https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/12/ten-cool-science-stories-we-almost-missed/
[2]: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
[3]: https://elifesciences.org/articles/96437
[4]: https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/01/research-roundup-7-cool-science-stories-we-almost-missed-2/
Three stages of a superkilonova: a supernova blast, neutron star merger, and finally kilonova that spews heavy metals.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/01/research-roundup-7-cool-science-stories-we-almost-missed-2/