The summer blockbuster season has kicked off in earnest with the theatrical release of Disclosure Day, director Steven Spielberg’s highly anticipated return to his “aliens are among us” sci-fi roots. Verdict: There's not much fresh or original here as movies about aliens go, but it's a fast-paced film with a luminous performance by Emily Blunt that won't fail to entertain.

(Some spoilers below but no major reveals.)

The first half of the film is essentially a political thriller—shades of 1974's The Parallax View and similar films—as global tensions have the world teetering on the brink of World War III. A cybersecurity specialist named Daniel (Josh O'Connor) has stolen a piece of alien technology and highly classified files from his employer, Wardex Corporation, a top-secret extension of the US government led by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth). Scanlon flushes out Daniel by holding his girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson) hostage. At the trade-off, Daniel double-crosses them and escapes with Jane, and the two go on the run as Scanlon declares Daniel a traitor.

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Very little is known about funerary practices in Iron Age Britain, since few human remains have survived. However, the environment in northwest Scotland is more conducive to preserving bone from that period. Archaeologists have previously noted evidence of postmortem manipulation of human remains, such as mummification, and of modifying human bones into tools or decorative artifacts. Now a new paper published in the journal Antiquity describes evidence of postmortem brain removal in remains from that region, as well as sharpened limb bones, possibly for use as tools.

The remains in question were found in 2000 at a burial cairn in Loch Borralie, near the most northwest tip of the Scottish mainland, after erosion revealed a human cranium. The excavated remains belonged to two individuals: one an adult female and the other a juvenile of (at the time) indeterminate sex; the cranium belonged to the latter. The authors of the new paper conducted a fresh osteoarchaeological analysis as well as multi-isotope and ancient DNA analysis. Radiocarbon dating of molar teeth from both sets of remains placed their deaths as occurring between 50 BCE and 70 CE.

In the case of the female individual, the authors noted an unusual break at the base of the cranium that likely occurred near the time of death. It's the kind of fracture that one gets from high-velocity impacts, including vehicular collisions, sporting accidents, falls, assaults, or even long-drop hanging. But the known forensic patterns observed in the aforementioned scenarios don't exactly match the pattern of the Iron Age cranium, leading the authors to conclude that it likely resulted from a targeted impact. They also noted perimortem fractures on both scapulae.

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People often speak metaphorically of the heartbeat or pulse of a city, but according to the authors of a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, cities do indeed have an "urban pulse"—an indication of urban "metabolic activity" that can be measured to suss out telltale patterns. And those patterns could help inform future public policy around urban planning.

The precise definition of urbanization has shifted over the centuries. Zhe Zhu of the University of Connecticut and his fellow authors adopted a broad version for their study. It features fundamental "processes of concurrent change in at least six dimensions, including demography, economy, infrastructure, environment, governance and culture," they wrote. "Together they give rise to outcomes, measurable results of the process, such as population growth, urban land expansion, GDP growth, and innovation." Their chosen metrics reflect this dynamic view: Cities are not static grids but "living, adaptive ecosystems."

“For decades, we had just been capturing the outcome of urbanization—a house that’s been built, or a road expansion,” said Zhu. “But you don’t really see the dynamics within an urban area. This is going to be a very impactful tool influencing not only top-down policy decisions from governments but also bottom-up decisions from everyday people navigating their cities.” One day we may be able to check a neighborhood's "urban pulse" while house-hunting, for instance, or while scouting potential locations for a new business.

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On Friday, news broke of the passing of actor Anthony Head at 72, best known for his portrayal of Watcher/father figure Rupert Giles on the supernatural drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fans and former costars alike flooded social media with outpourings of appreciation for his talent and grief at his death.

Head certainly had a thriving career after Buffy: he played Uther Pendragon in the series Merlin; the Prime Minister in Little Britain; a sinister headmaster in the Doctor Who episode "School Reunion"; and of course, the wealthy, entitled Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso. But Giles remains his definitive role; there was even talk of a spinoff series, Ripper, although it was never made.

There are actually very few Giles-centric episodes, which belies the central importance of the character in the series. He definitely had some of the best, most cleverly cutting lines. But Head's true genius—and that of his character—lay in quietly filling in the gaps in every scene, working with his fellow castmates to weave a complete tapestry. Remove him, and it diminishes everything.

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Five leading scientists were ousted from the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in New Orleans on Friday. Their crime: handing out copies of an editorial, published in the journal Diabetes Care on April 29, sharply criticizing the Trump administration's ongoing attacks on scientific research.

Those ousted were Steven Kahn, professor of medicine at the University of Washington and editor-in-chief of Diabetes Care, who co-authored the published editorial; former ADA President Desmond Schatz of the University of Florida, Gainesville; Aaron Kelly, pediatrics professor at the University of Minnesota; Justin Ryder of Northwestern University; and Irl Hirsch, also of the University of Washington. The five were handing out reprints of the editorial outside a room where NIH director Jay Bhattacharya had been scheduled to speak. Bhattacharya canceled and another NIH official spoke in his stead.

"They physically grabbed us, forced us out of the conference center, and now are telling us we can no longer attend this meeting," Kelly told MedPage Today, which first reported the incident. "They're taking our lanyards. It really has come to this in America. Censorship is real. America needs to stand up. Scientists, stand up. Physicians, stand up."

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My hopes were high for the new Prime Video superhero series Spider-Noir, based on all those amazing trailers. But I also had some trepidation. Could the actual series live up to the hype?

As it turns out, yes, it could. Spider-Noir is a triumph, fusing fast-paced storytelling, compelling characters, gorgeous cinematography and production design, and whip-smart dialogue into a hugely entertaining, loving homage to a magical bygone era.

(Some spoilers below, but no major reveals.)

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