The brightest take on this week’s science
This week in Spark, we’re diving into an overlooked source of microplastic pollution in your house.
But don’t worry, there’s a clever solution…
Plus, a few more gems:
🍊 A bright orange shark like you’ve never seen
🤯 A mind-blowing fact about octopuses
🔬 A microscope mystery that looks like your grandma’s wallpaper
Scroll for the science!
LOW-KEY GENIUS
Fish Filter Removes Plastics From Laundry Waste
(Jens Hamann)
Each time you run a load of laundry, millions of microplastics are flushed from the fibers of your clothing into the wastewater.
Researchers in Germany have now devised a clever way to capture 99 percent of those pollutants.
The invention is based on the mouths of fish.
Over millions of years, some fish species have evolved special comb-like structures in their mouths that filter plankton from ocean water.
The new laundry filter mimics this natural system without becoming clogged.
Researchers have already filed a patent for the invention in Germany, and another in Europe could be coming soon…
HEADLINES
What Else We're Watching
🏅This week’s most read: Silencing Bacterial 'Chatter' in Your Mouth May Help Prevent Tooth Decay
LOOK OUT
Rare Golden Shark Caught Off Central America
(Parismina Domus Day/Facebook)
It may look like a very large goldfish, but the creature featured above is actually a shark.
Specifically, it is a nurse shark with a very rare condition.
Scientists have never seen this species looking this orange before. The unique creature was caught off the coast of Costa Rica in 2024.
In August 2025, researchers published their findings. The shark’s bizarre coloring is due to two forms of abnormal pigmentation:
One, a lack of dark pigmentation, known as albinism.
And another, an excess of yellow pigmentation, called xanthism.
The result? A yellow-to-orange shark that pops against the ocean blue.
ZOOM ZONE
Microscope Mystery: What Do You See?
(Trick1722/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0)
A) Candida yeast
B) Cervical mucus
C) Saliva
D) Salt crystal
Answer at the bottom.
LOOK UP
Three Voracious Black Holes on a Collision Course
(NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/P. Vosteen)
Roughly 1.2 billion light-years from Earth, scientists have spotted an incredibly rare ‘triple active galaxy merger’.
Three voracious supermassive black holes, one in each galaxy, are on a collision course.
Each blazing entity is actively guzzling down material.
Only two other triple active galaxies have been found mid-collision in the nearby Universe.
This is the first known where all three black holes shine in radio light.
The discovery has turned astronomical theory into reality.
WOW FACTOR
Science Fact of The Week
Octopuses don’t just have arms in abundance; they also have three hearts!
Two of their hearts pump blood to the gills, and one pumps blood around the body. This last heart stops completely when the cephalopods swim.
Hence why they often prefer to crawl…
DOPAMINE HIT
Before You Go…
Have a quick look at this cutie.
Microscope answer: Cervical mucus.
The slimy substance that lines the cervix, vagina, and vulva can look like wallpaper under the microscope. The ‘ferning’ patterns aren’t just strikingly beautiful; they’re also incredibly useful for fertility and obstetric tests.
That’s all for today… see you next week!
- Carly
