Animals
New books deliver double dose of venomous animal facts
In Venomous and The Sting of the Wild, researchers delve into the world of venomous creatures and the scientists who study them.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Animals
How Houdini tadpoles escape certain death
High-speed video of red-eyed tree frog embryos reveals the secrets to their getaway plans.
Notebook
Oceans
Underwater city was built by microbes, not people
Submerged stoneworklike formations near the Greek island of Zakynthos were built by methane-munching microbes, not ancient Greeks.
Features
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SPIDER shrinks telescopes with far-out design
Researchers hope new approach to interferometry and photonics will replace standard telescopes and long-range cameras where room is scarce.
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Iron-loving elements tell stories of Earth’s history
By studying geochemical footprints of rare elements, researchers get a glimpse of the planet’s evolution.
More Stories from the August 6, 2016 issue
- Physics
Falling through the Earth would be a drag
Scientists study how friction affects a hypothetical jump through the center of the Earth.
- Planetary Science
Mars once had many moons
Mars' moons might be the only two left of a larger family of satellites that helped them form in the wake of an asteroid collision.
- Anthropology
New dating suggests younger age for Homo naledi
South African fossil species lived more recently than first thought, study suggests.
- Chemistry
Nuclear bomb debris can reveal blast size, even decades later
Measuring the relative abundance of various elements in debris left over from nuclear bomb tests can reveal the energy released in the initial blast, researchers report.
- Life
Donor mitochondria could influence metabolism, aging
Mitochondrial DNA donation could have unexpected long-term health consequences for “three-parent babies.”
- Tech
Light-activated heart cells help guide robotic stingray
Layers of silicone, gold and genetically engineered rat heart cells make up the body of a new stingray robot that can swim in response to light.
- Life
Hightailing it out of the water, mudskipper style
A robot and a land-walking fish show how a tail might have made a huge difference for early vertebrates conquering the slippery slopes of terrestrial life.
- Climate
Phytoplankton’s response to climate change has its ups and downs
In a four-year experiment, the shell-building activities of a phytoplankton species underwent surprising ups and downs.
- Life
When mouth microbes pal up, infection ensues
A common and usually harmless species of mouth bacteria can help harmful bacteria become more powerful by providing oxygen.
- Particle Physics
Three cousins join family of four-quark particles
Scientists with the Large Hadron Collider’s LHCb experiment report three new particles and confirm a fourth.
- Neuroscience
Post-stroke shifts in gut bacteria could cause additional brain injury
The gut’s microbial population influences how mice fare after a stroke, suggesting that poop pills might one day prove therapeutic following brain injury.
- Astronomy
Black hole born without stellar parent, evidence suggests
A galaxy in the early universe might harbor the first known “direct collapse” black hole, one that forms when a cloud of gas collapses under its own weight without forming stars.
- Planetary Science
Juno snaps its first pic of Jupiter
Jupiter and three of its moons take center stage in the first snapshot taken by the Juno spacecraft since arriving at the planet on July 4.
- Paleontology
Why the turtle got its shell
Fossil evidence suggests that turtles’ ancestors started to form precursors to today’s shells to help them dig, not to protect themselves.
- Health & Medicine
Zika epidemic peaking in Latin America
Zika virus is burning through the population of Latin America; the epidemic will probably be over within two years, and won’t strike again for at least 10 years or more, a new analysis suggests.
- Anthropology
Two groups spread early agriculture
The Fertile Crescent was a diverse place. Multiple cultures were involved in the dawn of farming.
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- Animals
To prevent cannibalism, bring chocolate
If a date goes bad for a nursery web spider, a romantic gift can serve as a shield.
- Health & Medicine
U.S. lags in road safety
The U.S. tops the list of 19 high-income countries for deaths from motor vehicle crashes.
- Oceans
50 years ago, humans could pick the oceans clean
Scientists have long recognized that we might overfish the oceans. Despite quotas, some species are paying the price of human appetite.
- Math
Website tests predictive powers of the hive mind
Metaculus.com asks people to make predictions about the likelihood of future events.
- Science & Society
See the Starship Enterprise, design virtual robots, and more
New museum exhibits highlight air and space travel, DARPA technologies and pterosaurs.
- Animals
How snails breathe through snorkels on land
Shells with a tube counterintuitively sealed at the end have hidden ways to let Asian snails snorkel while sealed in their shells.
- Cosmology
Debate accelerates on universe’s expansion speed
A puzzling mismatch is plaguing two methods for measuring how fast the universe is expanding.
