In this week's Science Saturday, we look at the latest news in science and tech, ranging from space missions to a new HIV variant.

Space exploration

NASA unveiled the first-ever images from its James Webb Space Telescope. The images showed a sun-like star. But what we can see right now are just 18 randomly organized dots of starlight, caused by the telescope's unaligned mirror segments. The task ahead for scientists is to adjust these mirror segments until the 18 images become a single star – a huge milestone for James Webb, whose ambitious mission is to study the early universe.

SpaceX satellites destroyed

A geomagnetic storm has destroyed 40 starlink satellites. The storm was triggered by eruptions from the sun. The defunct satellites were expected to fall back to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere. They were part of SpaceX's Starlink project, through which founder Elon Musk plans to build a high-speed internet network. More than 2,000 Starlink satellites have already been launched.

Fusion energy record

A major breakthrough in nuclear fusion energy has been made. European researchers said they had broken their own world record. The experiments by the UK-based JET laboratory have produced double the energy output from the tests in 1997 – and that's 50 megajoules of energy over five seconds. Scientists say the process is a significant achievement in turning nuclear fusion into a reliable energy provider.

New HIV variant

A new, viral HIV strain was found in the Netherlands. Oxford researchers say there's no cause for alarm with the effectiveness of modern treatments. The variant likely emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s but began to decline around 2010. The findings emphasize the importance of regular testing and treatment for those at risk. Researchers warn that viruses can evolve to become more virulent, as shown by the Delta variant of COVID-19.