Lab notes: from zero aliens to a whopping prime, 2018 is already racking up the digits

We're going to start big: with over 23m digits. That's right, not even a week into 2018 and records have already tumbled at the discovery of the largest prime number ever to be found - less than a year after its predecessor. It's exciting, it a math-sy sort of way, but for my money the most intriguing story this week was the genetic analysis of an ice age baby girl which has revealed a new group of Native Americans: the ancient Beringians. One of our experts also unpacked what the ancient DNA discovery tells us about Native American ancestry, and it's a fascinating read. A less pleasing genetic revelation (well, for those of us who enjoyed a sherry or two this Christmas) is the suggestion that alcohol can cause irreversible genetic damage to stem cells. Scientists made the discovery while trying to understand the link between drinking and cancer. On the plus side, there has been a big breakthrough in the quest to find an effective, non-addictive alternative to opioid painkillers - some much-needed good news as the global opioid addiction crisis worsens. Finally, it's bad news, but so damn interesting: an analysis of 'Tabby's star' (also known as KIC 8462852) has shown that there's no alien megastructure around it. Still, it's early days yet: let's see where the hunt for alien life goes in 2018.