When Drake, Milton Drake that is, penned the line, “Shoot me the pot, and I’ll pour me a shot,” never in his wildest dreams could he have had space in mind. But yesterday’s successful SpaceX launch may lend new meaning to java jive. Back in 2013 Luca Parmitano, an Italian astronaut, reportedly had one main complaint about working on the International Space Station: nary a cup of espresso to be found. Having returned to Earth after five months in space, we can safely assume he has had his espresso fix by now. But soon enough, Parmitano’s colleagues still orbiting our planet may be able to sip some java while looking down on the island nation of Java.

Wherever the pleasure of Grimm’s Fairy Tales and other folk tales may lie, it’s hardly in the plausibility of the stories, but it’s fun to see how particulars of the fantasy could actually occur in real life. Here are a few instances where fairy tale events don’t require any magic. Climbing a Tower With Hair (Rapunzel) If Rapunzel lets down her hair, could a prince really climb that golden stair? In 2011, a group of physics students at the University of Leicester investigated this question for the school’s Journal of Physics Special Topics, which is devoted to applying math and science to creative questions. One of the primary pieces of data needed for this calculation was the ultimate tensile strength of human hair: How much stress it can take while being stretched before breaking. The physicists cited a separate bit of research published in the Journal of Cosmetic Science that found that human hair’s ultimate tensile strength was around 380 Megapascals (MPa), which is stronger than cast iron, aluminum, and copper, but weaker than steel. Still, it seems to be enough for Rapunzel’s visitors to ascend without incident. Rapunzel’s hair “could support a weight of 27kN, or just over 2750kg [over 6,000 pounds],” the group wrote. …

Seven days, lots of science in the news. Here’s our roundup of some of the week’s most notable and quotable items. The Brontosaurus might be back! Though it was previously demoted to a cadet branch of Apatosaurus, a new analysis of skeletons suggest that Brontosaurus excelsus might be unique enough anatomically to come out and head up its own genus again. And in other dinosaur news, a new study finds evidence of cannibalism and combat in Daspletosaurus, a somewhat diminutive and less famous cousin of Tyrannosaurus. Humans may not be the only species counting calories. New study suggests the fruit fly’s brain can learn to tell the difference between normal-calorie and high-calorie food—and recall the healthier option at a later time. There is enough ice on Mars to cover the whole planet in a layer one meter thick. In a snapshot of a far-off galaxy, researchers spotted an “Einstein ring,” a fiery circle predicted by Albert Einstein resulting from one object bending the light coming from another object through the phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. Scientists found complex organic molecules, including hydrogen cyanide and methyl cyanide, in the young star system MWC 480. The sun may have “seasons” of variable activity over two-year …

If Easter was celebrated 3 million years ago, the chocolate bunny in your basket would likely be six times larger, with stubby rat-like ears. Such was the body plan of Nuralagus rex, an ancient rabbit that roamed what is now the Spanish island of Minorca. N. rex wouldn’t seem very rabbit-like at first blush—for one thing, it had a short, stiff vertebral column that means it wouldn’t have hopped along like its modern relatives. In fact, “N. rex would be a rather clumsy rabbit walking,” Josep Quintana, the paleontologist who discovered the giant extinct bunny, told National Geographic. “Imagine a beaver out of water.”

Seven days, lots of science in the news. Here’s our roundup of some of the week’s most notable and quotable items: Scientists in the U.K. are using tampons to measure local water quality. While the West is still working out some issues with medical consent, historians in Turkey have found a medical consent form dating back to the 16th century. There’s a prenatal test more accurate than standard methods at detecting Down syndrome. Primate social research has led scientists to think that elaborate beards and mustaches may be a way for human men to compete with each other. The blackpoll warbler, a tiny bird that weighs just as much as three teaspoons of sugar, is able to fly 2,700 miles across the Atlantic Ocean over three days without food or rest. Mercury’s dark surface may have been painted with black dust from comets. Poverty harms a child’s brain development. Polar bears are starting to hunt on land more often as sea ice shrinks, but it is doubtful that the new diet has enough fat to allow them to thrive. The factory workers of the future may be 3D-printed robotic ants. It may have been spry enough to complete a Martian marathon, but the …