Human Ebola Vaccine Trials Begin, a Newly Discovered Dinosaur from Zimbabwe, and Wildfires in Europe Are Producing “Fire Clouds”

Missed some of our top stories from the week? Check out our round-up below, covering the biggest science news and stories that matter.

This week’s stories, from July 25 to July 31, 2026, include the start of human vaccine trials for the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, a newly discovered Late Triassic dinosaur from Zimbabwe, how industrial poultry farming is driving foodborne pathogens, woolly mammoth bones found during the Danube drought, how melatonin may not be the answer for long-term sleep issues, and wildfires in Europe are creating dangerous “fire clouds.”

1. Ebola Outbreak Surpasses 3,000 Cases as First Human Vaccine Trial for Rare Bundibugyo Virus Begins

The WHO has updated the Ebola infection count to more than 3,200 during the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) latest outbreak that started in May 2026. Caused by the rare Bundibugyo species, the virus has spread alarmingly fast, reaching a growing number of provinces and crossing into neighboring Uganda.

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Read More: Ebola Outbreak Surpasses 3,000 Cases as First Human Vaccine Trial for Rare Bundibugyo Virus Begins

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2. Newly Discovered Dinosaur From Zimbabwe Could Change What We Know About Ancient Southern African Ecosystems

The animal is named Musango matusadonaensis, a new sauropodomorph that lived about 210 million years ago during the Late Triassic, when dinosaurs were diversifying before becoming dominant in the Jurassic. Together with other recent finds from Zimbabwe, Musango indicates that southern Africa supported distinct dinosaur communities rather than one broadly shared fauna.

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Read More: Newly Discovered Dinosaur From Zimbabwe Could Change What We Know About Ancient Southern African Ecosystems

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3. How 31 Billion Chickens Are Driving the Evolution of a Major Foodborne Pathogen

Industrial poultry production appears to have altered how Campylobacter jejuni moves between bird species and evolves. The bacterium is the world’s most common bacterial cause of diarrhea, and researchers trace an estimated 60 to 80 percent of human C. jejuni infections to poultry.

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Read More: How 31 Billion Chickens Are Driving the Evolution of a Major Foodborne Pathogen

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4. Woolly Mammoth Bones Emerge From Bulgaria’s Danube Riverbank During Drought

Only days after record-low water exposed decades-old shipwrecks along the Danube, the same river has given up something older, hundreds of miles downstream in Bulgaria. A resident near the Bulgarian village of Ryahovo spotted large bones along the Danube riverbank. They photographed the remains and sent the images to local officials.

According to the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), those images led specialists from the Regional History Museum in Ruse to the site, where they identified the remains as belonging to a woolly mammoth.

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Read More: Woolly Mammoth Bones Emerge From Bulgaria’s Danube Riverbank During Drought

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5. For Long-Term Sleep Improvement in Adults and Children, Melatonin May Not Be the Answer

Melatonin has become a go-to for both children and adults who have trouble sleeping. According to the Sleep Foundation, nearly half of all adults have used the sleep aid to fall asleep, and 39 percent say they take it every day. In all, 46 percent of parents report giving melatonin to their children to help them fall asleep.

But when it comes to long-term use, the data is sparse. Is it safe to take it to sleep, and if so, for how long? And what do we know about children and melatonin use?

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Read More: For Long-Term Sleep Improvement in Adults and Children, Melatonin May Not Be the Answer

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6. Wildfires in Europe Can Create “Fire Clouds” That May Trigger Lightning, Fierce Winds, and Even More Flames

Known as pyrocumulonimbus, or pyroCb, this rare phenomenon is sometimes described as a “fire cloud.” With France and Spain currently dealing with historic wildfires, these towering clouds are creating abundant challenges for firefighters. As blazes become intense enough to produce their own weather, they create a feedback loop in which lightning and extreme winds start new fires, repeating the cycle.

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Read More: Wildfires in Europe Can Create “Fire Clouds” That May Trigger Lightning, Fierce Winds, and Even More Flames

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