This Week in Science: Oct 6 - Oct 12

Will we ever save the bees? Do they even have a chance once dramatic changes to the global climate or disastrous health epidemics accelerate us towards catastrophe?

It's easy to feel downhearted about some of the news this week, we'll admit. But on the plus side, we could finally eliminate cervical cancer in the U.S. So we've got that going for us, which is nice. Read on to find out what fascinated us this week:

Australia’s Success Shows That the US Could Eliminate Cervical Cancer If It Really Wanted To. Australia is on track to all but eliminate cervical cancer within its borders by 2066, and the U.S. could follow in its footsteps.

Pour One out for MASCOT, the Asteroid-Exploring Lander. The MASCOT lander has powered down after spending 17 hours exploring Ryugu, an asteroid 180 million miles away from Earth.

We Need a Backup Supply of the World’s Helpful Germs, Say Researchers. Researchers call for the creation of a vault containing all the beneficial germs in the human microbiota to safeguard the future of human health.

A “Vaccine” Created from Mushrooms Could Help Save the Bees. A humble mushroom extract might help with many of bees' woes, according to new research — and even, maybe, help rebuild their world population.

Report: Unless We Make Dramatic Changes, We're Headed for Climate Catastrophe. According to a new IPCC report, we need to limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, not 2 degrees Celsius.

Oil Will Be Used Less for Fuel, More for Plastics and Fertilizers. Way more of the planet's oil production will go toward plastics and fertilizers instead of fuel, especially as renewables keep biting into the energy market.

Read More: This Week in Science: Sept 29 – Oct 5