Genetics
Family takes on progeria in ‘Life According to Sam’
A new documentary portrays an extraordinary search for a cure spurred by a teen with the premature aging disease.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Animals
How ticks get under your skin
A close look at a tick’s mouthparts reveals enviable burrowing tools.
Notebook
Animals
Pink armadillos ain’t your Texas critters
It’s a real animal, the smallest armadillo species in the world. At about 100 grams, it would fit in your hands.
Features
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Mind to motion
Brain-computer interfaces promise new freedom for the paralyzed and immobile.
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Waiting to exhale
Scientists sift through the chemical potpourri that escapes our lungs for new ways to diagnose disease.
More Stories from the November 16, 2013 issue
- Earth
African dust once fertilized the Everglades
Humans aren't the only source of nutrients for Florida’s wetlands. African dust may have fertilized the region thousands of years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Norovirus vaccine shows early progress
Individuals immunized against Norwalk virus and another norovirus experienced less vomiting and diarrhea than those who didn't receive shots.
- Climate
Tropics to launch into uncharted climate territory by 2038
Global temperatures will take a permanent leap above historical bounds by 2047 if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, a simulation suggests.
- Anthropology
Ancient farmers, foragers kept genes to themselves
Ancient DNA and diet clues suggest how farmers and hunter-gathers contributed to modern Europeans’ genetic profiles.
- Health & Medicine
Electrodes dupe brain into feeling touch
Stimulating the right neuron at the right time gave monkeys the sensation of contact.
- Life
Flashy drug spotlights infection
Doctors may be able to watch for invading microbes with a fluorescent antibiotic.
- Physics
New limit placed on physics constant
An analysis of how much the fine structure constant varies with the density of matter may help scientists determine whether the parameter changes with time.
- Health & Medicine
Hopes raised for Ebola treatment
Most monkeys given dual therapy survive infection with lethal virus.
- Neuroscience
NFL players’ brains take a hit
Brain scans reveal hidden abnormalities in retired football pros.
- Anthropology
Fossil skull points to single root for human evolution
New find suggests that humankind’s origins trace to an ancient species that spread from Africa to Asia.
- Neuroscience
Sleep allows brain to wash out junk
Discovery of fluids flowing in mice while they slumber could lead to better treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.
- Animals
Amphibian killer forces immune-cell suicides
Fungal menace to frogs and their kin shuts down key parts of the animals’ defenses.
- Agriculture
Fertilizer has staying power
Nitrogen-based fertilizer may remain in the soil for eight decades, complicating efforts to reduce pollution from runoff into rivers.
- Earth
Trees mark the spot of buried gold
Tiny bits of the precious metal in eucalyptus leaves indicate treasure lurks belowground.
- Materials Science
Radar distinguishes electronics from other metals
Using two pulses of radio waves, method could locate survivors trapped in rubble.
- Neuroscience
Brain stimulation restores movement in rats with spinal cord damage
Implanted electrodes might help paralyzed humans walk.
- Astronomy
Oort cloud tosses astronomers a cometary curveball
In late November, ISON will deliver debris from the dawn of the solar system to Earth’s doorstep.
- Health & Medicine
Seek Meningitis Vaccine
Excerpt from the November 9, 1963, issue of SCIENCE NEWS LETTER.
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- Materials Science
Qingsongite
This newly christened mineral has an atomic structure that’s similar to diamond and nearly as hard.
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- Planetary Science
Uninhabitable Earth
A recent estimate of the lifetimes of the habitability zones of Earth and various exoplanets suggests Earth could become unable to support life as soon as 1.75 billion years from now, when the sun brightens before dying out.
